(Yicai Global) Feb. 3 -- Chinese regulators have lost no time in cracking down on opportunists seeking to profit from the ongoing outbreak of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus that has seen 17,205 cases nationwide so far.

Some 390,000 law enforcement officers have been dispatched since the start of the epidemic last month to hunt for instances of profiteering and to date 1,413 cases have been filed, the State Administration for Market Regulation said today. At present, market prices remain relatively stable, it added.

China strongly opposes the behavior of using the epidemic to make money, especially on products related to people's welfare such as masks, food and vegetables, Deputy Director Gan Lin said at a press conference in Beijing.

A pharmacy in Beijing's Fengtai district was fined the maximum penalty of CNY3 million (USD428,000) for hiking the price of a box of 10 face masks to CNY850 (USD121) when it normally retails for CNY143 online, she said.

A supermarket run by French hypermarket chain Carrefour in Shanghai's Xuhui district was fined CNY2 million for repeatedly raising vegetables prices, at one stage to seven times the original price, the Shanghai government said on Jan. 30.

Authorities in Zhejiang province are currently handling a case of online mask sales involving CNY9.1 million (USD1.3 million), Gan added. The matter has been transferred to the police and is under investigation.

Editor: Kim Taylor