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A sample of fake Chinese caviar seized during an earlier raid in Spain by Interpol in 2012. The latest haul of Chinese counterfeit caviar was made in France. Photo: Interpol
A global police crackdown on counterfeit produce has netted thousands of tonnes of fake food and drink, including Chinese imitation caviar, Interpol said.
Operation Opson 4 was run by Interpol and its EU sister agency Europol in 47 countries during December and January, 20 of them within the European Union.
Some 2,500 tonnes of fake and substandard food and more than 275,000 litres of fake or diluted alcohol were confiscated.
The haul included 20,000 litres of fake whisky in Thailand, false malt in Uganda and fake beer in Rwanda. In Britain, police shut down an imitation vodka factory, where nearly 20,000 empty bottles were ready to be filled, Lyon-based Interpol said Monday.
French customs uncovered dubious Chinese “caviar” in boxes marked “Aquitaine caviar” after one of France’s most famous seafood-producing regions, as well as 17 tonnes of krill meat hidden in containers in the Channel port of Le Havre.
In Italy, the carabinieri busted a mozzarella trafficking ring in the southern Salerno region that made the famous cheese from sour milk produced in Eastern Europe.
In Tuscany, police discovered defrosted rotten fish and shellfish sprayed with a mix of citric acid, phosphate and hydrogen to mask its decay.
The two-month-long swoop targeted shops, markets, airports, harbours and industrial zones and involved police and customs officers as well as public and private consumer watchdogs.
The cross-border syndicates preyed mainly on alcoholic beverages, seafood and meat, Interpol said.
“Fake and substandard food and diluted, poor quality beverages are a real health and safety threat,” said Mike Ellis, who heads the Interpol unit that tracks the trafficking of illicit goods.
“People take significant risks and sometimes die because of criminals’ greed,” he said.
Colonel Bruno Manin, head of the French police’s unit involved in Opson 4, said it was best to avoid luxury products offered at bargain-basement prices.
“When a high-end product is offered at three to four times cheaper than in the shop it’s better to resist the lure,” Manin warned.
Trafficking in fake food and drink appeals to criminals as it produces hefty profits and poses a low risk, especially when the deal is done online.
“The Internet is definitely a strong accelerator for these crimes,” as it makes it difficult to track fraudsters perpetrating these crimes, Manin said.
Name brand OEM factories in China make real and fake alike
Staff Reporter
2015-03-15
Fake handbags in a factory in Dongguan, Guangdong. (Internet photo)
Knockoffs of Michael Kors handbags ready to be shipped from a factory in Dongguan, Guangdong. (Internet photo)
Up to 80% of luxury goods sold on China's online platforms are reportedly knockoffs, many of which come from legitimate OEM factories of the brands, reports China's Tencent news outlet.
An unnamed source told Tencent that many of the luxury goods on online overseas shopping platforms are fake. Zhou Ting, an expert in the field, said that according to a study in 2013, 80% of the luxury items sold online in China are counterfeit. Most of these items cost one-tenth to one-fourth of the real item's tag price.
China is home to OEM factories for many major luxury brands like Michael Kors, Coach, Prada, Burberry and Gucci, among others. In the coastal cities of Guangzhou, Dongguan and Qingdao, products that do not pass quality inspection are often times smuggled out of the factory and sold. "The management of the factories sell some, even the good ones, if they need the cash," said a former employee of a factory in Qingdao, who added that the items are generally sold for a quarter of the original price.
In 2015, a batch of Tommy Hilfiger purses manufactured in Qingdao were unable to be shipped due to problems with the contract. The batch subsequently slipped out from the OEM factory without detection.
Some factories specialize in producing knockoffs. An Ya (alias), an employee at a counterfeit Michael Kors' factory in Dongguan, told the press that her company has access to the fashion brand's suppliers, materials and original designs. "This is a very profitable business," An Ya said. "The leaders of the brands' OEM factories have access to the company's suppliers and original designs and they leak the information to manufacturers like us."
"Many employees in the OEM factories establish their own factories to make fake items. They are safe as long as they make sure the management gets their share and keep their mouths shut," another source revealed.
In July 2012, Louis Vuitton sued three large Chinese fake product markets and more than 30 individual sellers in Nanjing and Hefei and claimed compensation of more than 20 million yuan (US$3.2 millon).
Chinese authorities have also beefed up measures to reign in the knockoff industry. In mid-2014, authorities in Guangzhou raided 23 bases that stored and sold a total of more than 13,000 fake luxury goods items.
"The luxury brands are aware of the knockoff business but there's nothing much they can do about it," said a source familiar with the industry. As of now, the cost, standard and capacity of China's labor force is still a better alternative for international brands. If measures are taken against the brands' business partners in China, the whole supply chain will be affected. In all likelihood, none of the OEM factories are purely "clean," said the source.
