Customs shut down Tsim Sha Tsui trading Co – seals $20mn assets
27 Jul '05
1 min read
A garment counterfeiting syndicate with Japanese connections has been shut down by Customs, and will have its assets frozen, marking the first time the department has applied the Organised & Serious Crimes Ordinance to freeze crime proceeds of trademark infringers.
Officers yesterday arrested nine men and two women, aged 21 to 48, two of whom were directors of a Tsim Sha Tsui trading company and believed to be the syndicate heads. The gang, one of the biggest shut down by Customs, is believed to have about $20 million in crime proceeds.
Officers seized 157,000 counterfeit clothes and leather goods worth $62.5 million. The majority were of a prestigious brand.
A number of Hong Kong garment and trading companies and a Japanese retail network were involved. Japanese buyers came to Hong Kong to select and order counterfeit clothes. The syndicate then made the orders on the Mainland and conveyed the goods to To Kwan Wan for storage, and delivery to Japan. To evade detection, the syndicate opened a children's ware company in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Government of Hong Kong
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