Joint UAE and China raids seize $257 million in counterfeit goods

More than 28,000 counterfeit goods valued at $257 million have been seized in a joint operation by police in China and the UAE.

Officers in Dubai raided 10 locations in the emirate while authorities in China arrested 37 suspects.

Among the items confiscated were more than 7,000 counterfeit handbags purporting to be genuine Louis Vuitton and Chanel brands.

Xinhua, China’s state news agency, said the fakes were imported into the Emirates using falsified customs documents.

Some of the counterfeit items were also hidden among shipments of genuine products.

Over the summer, China launched a nationwide operation against counterfeiters – arresting more than 6,100 people to date.

And in July, the Department of Economic Development in Dubai announced its own crackdown with the introduction of new technology to help identify luxury counterfeit goods.

Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, chief executive of Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection at the Department of Economic Development, said the AI initiative would enable customs officers to identify fake products more quickly and accurately.

According to Chinese police, the items seized in the countries’ recent joint operation were manufactured at a factory in South China‘s Guangdong Province. The goods were confiscated in the UAE as well as prior to their export from China.