Hong Kong Customs has seized 3,300 counterfeit items worth about $310,000, after detecting a case of counterfeit goods which were for sale on a local internet auction site.
After a complaint about the sale of counterfeit goods on an internet auction site, the Customs "Anti-Internet Piracy Team" conducted in-depth investigations and mounted a search operation on residential premises in Yau Ma Tei on June 1.
Customs officers seized two computers and packing equipment from the premises and a variety of counterfeit goods including clothes, leather goods and jewellery from a storage house on the building's rooftop.
A 33-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were arrested. It was believed they had made use of an online auction site to sell infringing goods and delivered them to the buyers by postal service.
Customs Divisional Commander (Copyright Investigation), Mr Michael Kwan, said at a press briefing today (June 4) that in the past two years there had been quite a lot of cases in which counterfeit goods sold on internet auction sites were delivered to the buyers by postal and courier service. The trend was particularly obvious in the first five months this year.
Mr Kwan said that to more effectively combat this kind of sales activity on auction websites, Customs would work more closely with Hong Kong Post to prevent the postal system from being used as a channel for the delivery of counterfeit goods.
Stressing that two "Anti-Internet Piracy Teams" would closely monitor online piracy activities and follow up on the reports by the public, Mr Kwan said enforcement action would be taken against people committing any infringement activities.
The two arrested people have been bailed out on $5,000 each.
Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, it is a criminal offence to sell goods with forged trade marks. The maximum penalty is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Anyone who comes across any suspected online piracy activities can report to Customs by calling the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182.
Ends/Wednesday, June 4, 2009
