Five nabbed as $22m counterfeits seized

Customs officers have arrested five people for selling 80,000 counterfeit brand watches, earphones, designer bags, sneakers and sunglasses worth HK$22 million.

Those arrests came in 12 busts between April 26 and Monday, two of which involved products being sold in Hong Kong and the other 10 involving them being transported to Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Africa and other Asian countries.

The two-week "Tracer II" operation was aimed at combating the cross-border transshipment and the local sale of the counterfeits.

Among those arrested was a 25-year-old woman who allegedly operated a social media page for two months to sell counterfeit-brand bags, shoes and accessories for several hundred dollars to thousands.

She was arrested when she signed for a parcel of the products in a Tsuen Wan office on May 4. Officers also seized 19 pieces of suspected counterfeit goods with an estimated value of about HK$10,000.

Divisional commander for intellectual property transnational investigation Fung Wai-ching said the handbags and shoes the woman sold are of relatively low quality and could be easily spotted as counterfeits.

The others were three 25-year-old men and a 26-year-old man who were nabbed on April 26 in a shop in a Kwun Tong industrial building that was suspected to be offloading brand-name sneaker fakes.

About 880 items of suspected counterfeit goods, including popular sneaker models such as Nike Air Force, with an estimated market value of about HK$960,000 were seized, Fung said.

Unlike the woman, the men sold the counterfeits at prices similar to authentic ones. They had been operating the store for three months, which also offered online retail services.

Fung said the arrests stemmed from inspections of about 30 logistics companies in Yuen Long, Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung in which suspicious cargoes were identified and their delivery traced.

From January 7 to 14, customs seized about 27,000 items of suspected counterfeit goods with an estimated market value of over HK$10 million under a similar operation codenamed "Tracer I."

"We will continue to step up stringent inspection and enforcement to combat counterfeiting activities in various ways vigorously," Fung said.