About R60 million worth of protected brands on counterfeit goods were seized in the Johannesburg CBD on Tuesday, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said.
Spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu said this was a phase one search and seizure operation by the Hawks, the South African Police Service(SAPS), Department of Home Affairs, Customs, and South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Mulamu said the authorities searched 120 shops at Quebec Building in the CBD where they confiscated clothes, bags, cosmetics, accessories, and jewellery of the protected brand names including Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dolce and Gabbana, Adidas, Nike, Puma, Soviet, Converse, and Guess with an estimated value of R60 million.
“A man was arrested for trying to bribe the authorities while they were searching the shops and seven were arrested for not having legal documents required to be in the Republic. The operation was targeted to achieve successes on trading in counterfeit goods, tax evasion, money laundering, and human trafficking,” Mulamu said.
-African News Agency (ANA)
