Hong Kong Customs have raided a distribution company and a retail store, resulting in the seizure of 129 sets of counterfeit mobile phones, including accessories worth about HK$130,000.
This was the first time that Hong Kong Customs reportedly seized counterfeit mobile phone sets with accessories including batteries and chargers. During the operation, two men and a woman, aged between 43 and 60, including a 60-year-old male proprietor of the distribution company, were arrested.
Acting on complaint from a trademark owner that a company was suspected of distributing counterfeit mobile phones, Hong Kong Customs conducted in-depth investigation. Customs officers mounted the operation against the distribution company in Kwun Tong and seized 126 phones and arrested a man. The officers subsequently seized from a retail store in Sham Shui Po three sets of suspected counterfeit mobile phones of the same model. A man and a woman were arrested.
The counterfeit goods were purported to be parallel imports and sold by illicit traders at a lower price than that of genuine goods. Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance in Hong Kong, it is a criminal offense to sell goods with forged trademarks or false trade descriptions to a material degree. The maximum penalty upon conviction is imprisonment for five years and fine of HK$500,000.
