Hong Kong customs officers have seized more than HK$44 million (US$5.6 million) worth of fake brand-name products ranging from watches to sports shoes and arrested three men in a two-week operation against contraband goods.

The operation, code-named “Tracer”, was carried out between May 15 and 29 to combat the import and export and sale of knock-off goods replicating famous brand names such as Richard Mille, Patek Philippe, Rolex, IWC, Chanel and Hermes.

The Customs and Excise Department on Friday revealed officers from its intellectual property investigation bureau discovered more than 78,000 counterfeit products in 22 cases. Seized items include watches, leather handbags, clothing, sports shoes and phone accessories.

Inspector Vincent Leung Cheuk-fai from the bureau said the investigation found about 90 per cent of the contraband was destined for overseas, while the rest was intended to be sold locally.

He said most of the goods were seized from the sorting centres of more than 10 logistic companies in the New Territories before being shipped out of the city.

A source familiar with the case said: “The seized items included more than 7,000 knock-off watches worth HK$18 million that were destined for the Middle East, Europe and America, including places such as Dubai, the Netherlands, Germany, France and the United States.”

He added the case involved another 1,400 fake brand-name handbags with an estimated value of HK$1.5 million. They were replicas of Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Gucci products.

Officers also seized 6,000 pairs of sports shoes with forged Nike and Adidas trademarks. More than 40,000 phone accessories worth HK$10 million, including earphones, chargers and phone cases imitating Apple and Samsung, were confiscated.

In two of the 22 cases, customs officers seized products with forged trademarks and pirated Blu-ray discs of films and television dramas from two inbound trucks at Shenzhen Bay Control Point. Two drivers were arrested.

Officers posing as workers carried out a controlled delivery of the pirated discs to a Mong Kok shop on May 16, when a 57-year-old shop assistant was arrested.

All three suspects were released on bail, pending further investigation.

Leung said they were investigating the sources of the 78,000 seized items.

Assistant Superintendent Yorkson Yeung Yuen-sang of the bureau said they would continue to carry out stringent enforcement actions to combat such illegal activities and target the import of counterfeit products from the source.

In Hong Kong, selling or possessing any goods with a forged trademark carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a HK$500,000 fine.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3222712/hong-kong-customs-seizes-hk44 million-worth-fake-goods-luxury-brands-rolex-chanel-and-patek-philippe

Category: Hong Kong