Probe 'closing in' on fake Teletubbies
Private detectives hired by the BBC to expose the trade in fake Teletubbies say they are closing in on two Guangdong toy factories.
The Hong Kong agency contracted to stamp out production of counterfeit Teletubbies merchandise across Asia said yesterday that fakes were being made near Guangzhou.
Asian Security & Investigation Services said agents were watching and photographing activities at two production centres and were monitoring exports.
'We already know the factories - they're making the dolls,' managing director Frank Knight said.
'It's just a matter of getting the evidence.' The legitimate trade in merchandise spawned by the hit children's television series is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
But fakes - dolls, T-shirts, key-rings and VCDs - are widely available across the region.
Mr Knight said the problem had been brought under control in Singapore, but South Korea was emerging as the next target of a crackdown.
