Dubai Customs seizes and recycles Dh188,000 worth of fake goods

The counterfeit items included sports shoes, computers and headphones

Dubai Customs officers uncover a shipment of fake mobile phones. The customs office often recycles counterfeit goods to protect consumers and limit environmental damage. Courtesy: Dubai Customs

Dubai Customs recycled more than 1,900 counterfeit goods worth an estimated Dh188,000.

The items, which were seized by the intelligence department, included sports shoes, computers and headphones.

The authority was alerted to a number of suspicious shipments arriving from a country in Asia.

On investigation, a task force team from Dubai Customs intercepted the cargo and seized and confiscated 1,906 separate counterfeit goods.

Malik Hanouf, chief executive of the Brand Owners' Protection Group, a company that seeks the enforcement of intellectual property laws, said recycling such items helped brand owners destroy copied products that could pose a danger to unaware consumers.

It also helped to reduce the harmful effect on the environment caused by the illegal fake goods trade.

Urging people to stay alert to counterfeit products, Shuaib Al Suwaidi, director of Dubai Customs Intelligence Department, said such items were not welcome in the Emirates.

“We take care of all information that help us thwart all types of smuggling to protect our society from the hazards of illegitimate goods,” he said.

“We work together with different partners to ensure they don’t enter the emirate.”

The recycling was carried out by Colour Code waste treatment plant in Dubai.

In 2018, authorities in Dubai seized and destroyed Dh332m worth of fake goods.

The Department of Economic Development said a total of 19.9 million counterfeit items were confiscated from traders in the emirate.

The figure indicated an improvement on the situation since 2016 when DED announced it had recovered fake goods worth Dh1.6 billion.