Local traffic authorities have shut down a vehicle registration office amid allegations that scalpers were collaborating with insiders and trading car license plate combinations on the black market.

The Jingshun vehicle inspection center in northeast Beijing's Shunyi district was ordered to close on Monday after traffic police said car license plate scalping was rampant there.

New car owners were allegedly paying twice the official cost of a vehicle license plate in order to get plates with supposed auspicious combinations.