Beijing police said Monday that they have detained a couple who were found to be illegally trading large amounts of personal information on the Internet.

The couple, who run an "information consulting" company in the city's Fengtai District, were found to be in possession of a computer with a large database of personal information, according to a spokesman from the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

The database contained over 10 million entries, including mobile phone numbers, names, addresses and property information, according to the spokesman.

The couple illegally purchased the information through advertisements posted on public message boards and social networking websites, the spokesman said. The couple then sold the information to other companies at double the price, according to the spokesman.

Chinese mobile phone users have been plagued by unsolicited advertisements in the form of text messages and phone calls in recent years, a phenomenon that has been partially blamed on illegal personal information sales.