The goods seized included hundreds of thousands of empty cans and bottles, packaging materials and a large quantity of substandard lubricant, anti-freeze and engine oil.

The factories are now sealed pending further investigation, sources said.

According to the sources, the factories had been operating under the protection of local government officials.

'Obviously, there are corrupt local government officials involved,' one source said.

Although local officials in Zengcheng have denied knowledge of the counterfeit operation, one of the five factories raided was less than 50 metres away from the Xiaolu Government Office.

The fake goods were reportedly on sale as far away as Sichuan and Beijing.

All of the factories were well-equipped, with some in the middle of production when raided by Public Security Bureau officers.

In one factory, officials found two 50-metre-long production lines and a large quantity of printing plates bearing Mobil and Esso brand names.

Officials also seized close to a million metal sheets carrying the Mobil trademark, with each sheet able to be made into four cans.

Officials found the counterfeiters also manufactured Chinese brands, Great Wall and Shanghai.

Unlike some low-tech counterfeit operations, officials even found a large quantity of brand identification holograms at one of the can makers.

At the oil factory, officials found fake goods for Japanese cars such as Mitsubishi and Toyota.

One source said although the factories had been raided it was difficult to tell if they could be permanently shut down.

'They will have to follow through by prosecuting those counterfeiters otherwise the effect will be limited,' the source said.