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Customs officers of the Marine Strike and Support Division from the Ports and Marine Command have made a significant seizure of falsely marked goods, valued at $8.5 million from a container arriving from the Mainland.

During a cargo inspection operation at the Kwai Chung Container Terminal last Friday (October 10), the officers inspected a 20-foot-long container imported by a river trade vessel from Huangpu. As a result, they found more than 75,000 pieces of assorted goods bearing forged trade marks or false origin labels. The goods seized included handbags, pens, wallets and watches.

Investigations are still ongoing and no arrests have been made.

Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, anyone importing goods with forged trade marks or false trade descriptions is liable to prosecution. The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $500,000 and five years' imprisonment.

Ends/Monday, October 13, 2003

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