Duo nabbed for importing fakes of clothing brands

Officers seized 6,097 pieces of counterfeit clothes with a street value estimated at over $120,000 last week.
Officers seized 6,097 pieces of counterfeit clothes with a street value estimated at over $120,000 last week. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Two people have been arrested for importing and possessing counterfeit products, the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Customs said in a joint statement yesterday.

The pair, who are both 36, were uncovered during a 14-hour joint operation on Thursday by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Singapore Customs.

The latter had inspected a consignment of goods suspected to contain counterfeit apparel at a warehouse in Pioneer Sector last Monday. It seized the clothes after the brand owners confirmed that the items were counterfeit, and alerted CID to the case on Tuesday.

Officers carried out simultaneous raids in Pioneer Sector and Jalan Berseh two days later and arrested a man and a woman.

They also seized 6,097 pieces of counterfeit clothes with an estimated street value of more than $120,000.

The authorities said they "take a serious view on intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements and will not hesitate to take action against those who showed blatant disregard for Singapore's IPR laws".

Anyone found guilty of importing, possessing or distributing goods with falsely applied trademarks for the purpose of trade can be jailed for up to five years and/or fined up to $100,000.

Investigations are ongoing.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on February 11, 2018, with the headline Duo nabbed for importing fakes of clothing brands. Subscribe