A Fendi handbag for HK$499? Interpol alerted after websites tout phoney auctions for luxury goods seized by Hong Kong customs

One US-based site claiming to sell Fendi handbags worth HK$26,800 for just HK$499 included a picture from a press conference that followed a massive June smuggling bust

Another site registered in Canada claimed proceeds from the ‘auction’ would be given to charity

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Hong Kong customs has alerted Interpol after overseas websites touted phoney auctions of seized luxury goods using actual photos from department press conferences. Photo: Handout

Published: 4:55pm, 28 Dec 2021Updated: 5:39pm, 28 Dec 2021

Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department is asking Interpol for help in going after websites that are hawking knock-off luxury goods they claim are real versions being auctioned off by the authority.

One website registered in the United States claimed customs was putting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of recently seized designer handbags on “judiciary auction”.

A counterfeit Fendi handbag was being sold for just HK$499 (US$64) on the site, which featured a picture of Hong Kong customs officials displaying similar purses at a June press conference that followed a massive seizure.

The real version of the bag, by comparison, goes for a cool HK$26,800 on the fashion house’s official site.

Hong Kong customs in October seized over HK$1 billion in luxury goods and endangered species. None were put up for sale in online auctions. Photo: Felix Wong

The joint anti-smuggling operation with mainland Chinese authorities over the summer confiscated a haul of luxury items and endangered species with a street value as high as HK$300 million (US$38.7 million).