A young Hong Kong businessman accused of importing second-hand counterfeit clothing from across Asia to sell in the city as vintage apparel has been arrested after customs found fake items worth HK$5.3 million. The 23-year-old man, the sole proprietor of a local company, was picked up last Tuesday in a Tsuen Wan warehouse where customs officers seized more than 8,400 knock-off goods, the department revealed on Monday. Hong Kong customs officers arrest 22 in fake designer goods operation Another 700 pieces of counterfeit clothing were also discovered in a follow-up Customs and Excise Department raid at a retail outlet the man operated in Mong Kok. Officers arrested a 22-year-old sales assistant there. Initial investigation showed the fakes were bought from countries such as Thailand, Pakistan and South Korea, according to assistant superintendent Szeto Chi-fai, of customs’ intellectual property transnational investigation division. “The goods were taken to the Tsuen Wan warehouse, where they were washed and revamped before being sold in its Mong Kok outlet,” he said. “All the items were copies of famous brands of clothing designed in the 1990s and sold under the sales gimmick of vintage apparel.” He said the fakes – on sale in the upstairs section of the Mong Kok store – were mixed together with some genuine products and passed off as authentic. The fakes ripped off well-known designer brands such as Burberry, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Nike and Adidas. The goods were each bought for an average price of between HK$100 and HK$200, according to the department. “Investigation showed the fakes were sold for between HK$500 and HK$3,500 each. That is between 30 and 80 per cent of the price of genuine products,” Szeto said. The assistant superintendent said he believed the illegal trade had been operating for more than a year and officers were investigating how many fake products were sold over that period. The businessman and his employee were arrested on suspicion of possessing goods with a forged trademark for sale. The offence carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a HK$500,000 fine. They had been released on bail, pending further investigation. Customs officers began investigating the company after intercepting two of its imported consignments at Lok Ma Chau control point on March 12. The department said the probe was continuing. The consignments in total contained 75 pieces of counterfeit clothing and 40 knock-off handbags that were shipped to the city from Thailand and Pakistan.