Tokyo police have arrested four Pakistani nationals on suspicion of possessing and selling counterfeit airbags for vehicles in Japan.

The Metropolitan Police Department says Israr Mian Ali, a 36-year-old employee at a secondhand car dealer, and another Pakistani were arrested for allegedly possessing counterfeit airbags for sales purposes. Police say these fake devices resemble those of major automakers and were kept at a warehouse in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

The other two are suspected of selling the counterfeit airbags.

The Tokyo police have not disclosed whether the suspects have admitted to the charges, saying doing so could hinder the investigation.

The airbags were allegedly sold on an Internet auction site as authentic products of major automakers. They were priced at less than half of the genuine items.

The automakers found in a test that the counterfeit airbags may not inflate properly or that shards could burst out upon impact. However, no accidents regarding these fake products have so far been confirmed.

Police say this is the first time in Japan that authorities have taken action over counterfeit airbags.

They believe the suspects produced them using fake emblems imported from overseas and sold around 1,000 of them.