Dubai Customs seizes 17,280 counterfeit Vaseline packs worth Dh400,000

Officials work with industry group to clamp down on brand theft

Dubai Customs officials inspect a consignment of goods, searching for counterfeit products. Wam

Dubai Customs on Wednesday said it seized more than 17,000 packs of counterfeit Vaseline, with a retail value of Dh400,000 ($108,000).

Officers said the shipment of bogus Vaseline petroleum jelly came from an Asian country, but no further details about the seizure were disclosed.

The operation was conducted by the Intelligence Department and Intellectual Property Rights Department of Dubai Customs, with inspectors from the Air Cargo Centre Management.

"Counterfeit goods cause great harm to society and the economy," said Yousef Mubarak, director of the Intellectual Property Rights Department.

To prevent this, Mr Mubarak said the department works with the Brand Owners' Protection Group – an organisation established by international companies and law firms specialising in intellectual property in the GCC region.

"We co-operate with the Brand Owners' Protection Group to fight these counterfeit goods and protect the rights of trademarks," Mr Mubarak said.

"We engage trademark owners in workshops to educate our inspectors in the latest methods of detecting and distinguishing fake products."

This month Dubai Customs said it had foiled 35 attempts in the past three years to import more than 68 kilograms of "black magic" items at Dubai International Airport.

Dubai Customs seizes black magic items – in pictures