FAKES ARE CHEAP, BUT DANGEROUS
▶ From toxic perfume to car brake pads, counterfeit goods pose risks
Toxic perfume and brake pads not fit to be used in a car are two examples of the counterfeit goods seized from the streets of the UAE.
Designer clothes and branded handbags may harm the image and bottom line of luxury retailers – but low-grade goods could damage the health of consumers, investigators said.
Experts responsible for training law enforcement officials lifted the lid on some of the techniques used by counterfeiters, and the measures used to spot fake goods.
“There have been 50 or so raids that we have been involved in with counterfeit goods over the past two years in the UAE,” said Hatem Abdelghani, director of the intellectual property department at The Legal Group in Dubai.
“These raids happen in warehouses in industrial areas of Dubai. The counterfeiters are bringing goods into the country and then distributing them from there to other marketplaces.
“Every time we execute these raids we recover samples that are then submitted for analysis to discover exactly what the contents are, and if they pose any kind of health risk.”
The Legal Group has a research team that gathers intelligence on who is selling counterfeit goods and where the goods are stored.
That evidence is passed on to authorities to help plan raids and make arrests.
Dubai Customs seized counterfeit goods worth Dh72.6 million during 133 inspections in the first six months of this year.
One raid in Dubai in August last year by the Dubai Economic Development Department recovered and destroyed 21,632 tubes of fake Colgate Triple Action toothpaste, destined to be sold in Russia.
In October last year, 140,000 fake Colgate toothbrushes hidden in brown boxes were seized before they could be exported for sale in Africa.
One of the largest hauls in the region was in March last year when 393,740 fake toothbrushes were recovered by customs officials in Saudi Arabia.
“When goods are stored they are often disguised as other items, such as dental hygiene products boxed up as spare vehicle parts,” Mr Abdelghani said. “These traders use fake invoices to deliver the goods, so they can be hard to trace once the products have been identified as counterfeit.
“Some fake perfumes and aftershaves we have recovered are irritable to the skin and can be quite toxic.”
Since 2014, raids on traders selling fake Colgate and Palmolive products have resulted in 30 administrative cases with the Dubai Economic Development Department, three criminal cases with Dubai Police, four administrative cases with the Sharjah Economic Development Department, one administrative case with Ajman Municipality and two criminal cases with Ajman Police.
Raids seized 735,344 fake Colgate products, 432 fake Palmolive products and 96,427 Lady Speed Stick deodorants.
Tell-tale signs of fake goods are spelling errors on poor-quality packaging, or using small letters rather than capitals in brand names.
“We have been running such training programmes for years and achieved a huge number of successful cases against counterfeit products,” said Marmie Santos, from The Legal Group.
“The success of our training programme has helped UAE enforcement authorities to be better equipped in conducting their activities against counterfeiters.”
Last year, millions of counterfeit branded mobile phones, cigarettes, cosmetics and other items valued at Dh1.6 billion were seized in raids by consumer protection officers, with mobile phones the most common product recovered. Fake car parts are also a big problem.
“We are seizing a lot of fake brake pads and bearings. If these make it onto the vehicle market, they can be hugely dangerous, so it is a big problem,” Mr Abdelghani said.
“People need to be aware of what they are buying and we encourage them to question exactly why something is so cheap. This is crime and is funding further criminality.
“Consumers should not become part of this circle. It is a big war against these traders, and we are trying to keep the consumer on the right side.”