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Hong Kong Customs has successfully dismantled a sophisticated syndicate accused of selling counterfeit goods online, seizing approximately 9,200 items of fake products with an estimated market value of HK$15 million. The operation also saw seven individuals arrested.
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Two company directors are among the arrestees, with authorities indicating that further arrests are possible.
The seized counterfeit items included a wide range of products such as health supplements, clothing, accessories, and medicines found to contain Part 1 poisons. The investigation was launched in June following a public tip-off about suspicious online sales.
According to a Customs spokesman, the syndicate operated by promoting well-known traditional Chinese medicine health products on social media platforms at roughly half their market price to attract buyers.
After customers placed orders, the goods were delivered by courier under a cash-on-delivery payment scheme.
To deceive customers into believing they were receiving genuine products shipped locally, the criminal group went to great lengths to conceal the international origin of the counterfeit items, said the spokesman.
“They re-applied new courier labels over the original shipping documents, creating the false impression that the parcels had been sent from within Hong Kong.”
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Customs emphasized the potential dangers of the seized products, particularly the health supplements, noting that their ingredients are unknown.
All suspect health products have been sent to the government laboratory for urgent testing to ensure public safety.
