Police in the UAE seized fake luxury products worth an estimated Dh30 million ($8.1m). In the latest raid against counterfeiting gangs, officers in Ajman confiscated 120,000 duplicate items of luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Boss, Versace, Chanel, Dior and Prada. Among the fake items were clothes, designer bags, watches, wallets, accessories and sunglasses. Brig Khaled Al Nuaimi, deputy director of Ajman Police operations, said the force acted after a complaint about shops in the area selling fake goods. "We launched an investigation and raided the shops. Fake items were seized and legal action was taken against the offenders,” he said. Brig Al Nuaimi said the police will continue to crack down on bootleggers. The UAE has in <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/government/dubai-customs-seizes-and-recycles-counterfeit-goods-worth-dh1-million-1.1208190">recent years intensified a campaign</a> against knock-off goods such as watches and luxury handbags – which earn millions for criminal gangs. A once thriving underground trade in the markets of Dubai's Deira and Bur Dubai districts is largely gone after police raids, while the authorities regularly shut down Instagram accounts that advertise fake goods. The UAE also signed several international treaties for the protection of copyright work, including the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement. Last month, the UAE was taken off the US intellectual property protection (IPP) watchlist. "This decision is an endorsement of our progress," said said Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State, last week. "The UAE is committed to implementing robust IPP regulatory standards, including having an infringement and enforcement framework that upholds these standards."
