Macau Customs Service (SA) officers on Tuesday busted four shops suspected of selling fake products infringing on the respective brands’ intellectual property rights (IP), involving 816 bogus items worth 510,000 patacas in total, according to the prices set by the retailers.
Four suspects aged between 32 and 52, comprising one local female shop owner, one local worker and two non-resident workers from the mainland and the Philippines respectively, were arrested during Tuesday’s operation.
According to the statement, the Macau Customs Service continues to carry out spot checks on local shops and discovered that two fashion outlets on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro and Rua de Pedro Nolasco da Silva were suspected of selling copyright infringement products.
The statement said that during the inspection, Customs officers found that the shops also had branches on Avenida do Almirante Lacerda and Rua de Francisco Xavier Pereira, and also sold the clothing suspected of infringing the brands IP.
Therefore, Customs officers took action against the four shops at the same time on Tuesday, and confiscated 816 items of clothing, which were later analysed by the brand’s appraisers and determined to be counterfeit, adding that if the items were genuine, they would retail for about 510,000 patacas in total.
The statement did not reveal the affected brands.
The statement noted that the bogus items were transported from the mainland to Macau by logistics companies. The items were purchased at a price ranging from 298 to 350 yuan (330 to 388 patacas) each, and then sold at a price of 450 to 699 patacas in local shops.
The statement said that the suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP). According to the Industrial Property Code Decree-Law No 97/99/M, the suspects face a hefty fine and up to six months in jail.
This undated handout photo provided by Macau Customs Service (SA) shows the 816 bogus clothing items seized on Tuesday, displayed at their headquarters in Barra.
