12 arrested as Hong Kong customs bust syndicate selling fake Korean cosmetics
With 5,200 items seized, it is the biggest haul of counterfeit cosmetic and skincare products in the past two years
Customs officers say they have smashed a syndicate supplying bogus cosmetic and skincare goods in Hong Kong following the arrest of 12 people and seizure of more than 5,200 counterfeit products.
The fakes – mostly Korean make-up and skincare products – with an estimated street value of HK$600,000 (US$76,923), were confiscated from nine outlets in Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Jordan and a warehouse in Tsing Yi on Wednesday.
The Post understands the fakes were purported to be products of about 10 different cosmetic brands and included popular South Korean ones such as Sulwhasoo, Laneige and Innisfree.
Superintendent Guy Fong Wing-kai, head of customs’ intellectual property investigation group, said it was the biggest seizure of counterfeit cosmetic and skincare products in the past two years.
Of the 12 suspects, 10 – nine men and a woman – were nabbed at the nine outlets on Wednesday after customs officers posing as shoppers were sent to collect evidence. About 500 fake items were seized in the nine outlets, which include drugstores and grocery shops.
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The suspected ringleader of the syndicate was a 31-year-old man who was picked up in a warehouse in a Tsing Yi industrial building where 4,700 fake products were confiscated on Wednesday.