The Ministry of Public Security put up a notice on its website Thursday offering 10,000 yuan (1,460 U.S. dollars) for information on a man suspected of leading a drug ring pushing fake diabetes medication that has caused the deaths of at least two people.

Li Dong, the main suspect at large, was born in 1970 and allegedly sold the fake Tangzhining capsules in several Chinese regions, police said.

Police arrested five suspects in mid January following the deaths of the diabetes patients in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region after they took the bogus drugs, the ministry said.

Preliminary investigations showed the counterfeit drugs were not produced in Xinjiang, but the authorities have not yet been able to identify their source.

The authorities have also found more than 5,000 bottles of the fake diabetes medication in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces, news website People.com.cn reported.

No one has been found ill after taking the fake drugs in the two provinces, the website posted.

According to preliminary investigations, the drugs entered the Sichuan market from Liaoning Province.

The health authorities in Liaoning said police have sealed up 1,025 bottles of the fake drugs in Chaoyang, Li's home city, and Li's sister has also been under police watch.

Investigations by the State Food and Drug Administration showed the counterfeit drug contained an illegal chemical ingredient that is allegedly used to lower blood sugar levels.

(China Daily February 6, 2009)