Haul of 6,000 fake designer handbags found in shipping container in Hong Kong
Stash, which arrived from mainland China en route to Chile, had an estimated value of HK$850,000
Customs officers in Hong Kong confiscated about 6,000 fake designer handbags and wallets hidden in a shipping container that arrived from mainland China destined for Chile, they announced on Friday.
They searched the container after it arrived from Huangpu, Guangdong province, on Monday.
During the inspection at the Customs Cargo Examination Compound in Tuen Mun, officers found 5,000 suspected counterfeit handbags and 1,000 suspected counterfeit wallets, according to the Customs and Excise Department. The haul had an estimated market value of HK$850,000 (US$110,000).
In Hong Kong importing or exporting any goods with a forged trademark carries a maximum penalty of a five-year jail term and a HK$500,000 fine.
In a separate incident on Thursday night, customs officers arrested four men aged between 31 and 59, seizing about 32,000 pirated DVDs and pornographic DVDs from four shops during an anti-piracy operation in Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok.
The haul had an estimated street value of HK$900,000.
“Customs has been carrying out stringent enforcement actions against the sales of infringing goods and will continue to step up patrols and enforcement actions against piracy activities during the Lunar New Year holidays,” a spokesman for the department said.