MESQUITE - Dallas County's new Clean Air Emission Task Force hit the ground running Wednesday targeting people accused of selling fake vehicle inspection stickers.

During the morning sting, five people were arrested, including two people in Richardson. Authorities said all the men are suspects in a lucrative counterfeit vehicle registration scheme.

In short, authorities said the suspects take one car that passes inspection and run hundreds of stickers off that car. They allegedly charge $100 per vehicle, send approximately $40 to the state and pocket the rest.

Overall, the goal of the stings is to cut down on pollution in Dallas County by keeping vehicles that don't legally pass inspection off North Texas roads.

Officials estimate that about 300,000 of the 1.6 million annual vehicle inspections in Dallas County are fraudulent, fictitious or improperly done.

Constables say that according to numerous studies, the dirtiest air in Texas is in Dallas County. Some of that air blows up from Houston and some of it comes from the polluted vehicles that are out on the roadway.

While five people were arrested, authorities said they are still searching for one more man who is believed to be in New York City.

The arrested suspects were charged with tampering with government records, which is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report