Counterfeit goods worth hundreds of millions seized by Dubai Police

More than Dh280 million worth of fake goods were taken off the streets of Dubai this year as the authorities sought to tackle a global trade that damages legitimate businesses and fuels organised crime and terrorism.

From knock-off luxury bags from Louis Vuitton and Burberry to cheap unauthorised car parts that could cause accidents, sellers were targeted in a large number of raids and seizures.

Weight loss drugs and anti-aging treatments were also commonly faked.

Once largely sold in the bustling streets of Karama, many are now promoted via social media accounts and WhatsApp and delivered to tourists' and residents' hotels and homes.

The value of the seizures was revealed at the Regional Intellectual Property Crime Conference on Tuesday, which aims to strengthen cooperation among international law enforcement.

A total of 212 trademark infringement cases and 11 copyright cases were reported in Dubai in 2017, compared to 230 trademark infringement cases and 16 copyright the previous year.

“We work closely with government departments and international authorities to track down and arrest those involved in smuggling counterfeit products," said Mohammed Lootah, chief executive of commercial compliance and consumer protection at Dubai Economic Department (DED), which overseas the sale of goods in the emirate.

In the first half of this year, more than 6,800 Instagram accounts were shut down for selling counterfeit goods online, up from 3,600 during the same period in 2016 , according to DED.

The latest iPhones - or rather cheap imitations that look like genuine models - were also seized.

When Dubai Police raided a villa in the city earlier this year, they found 214 iPhone 7s and 673 iPhone 6s Plus models, along with more than 20,000 sets of fake headphones.

One of the largest busts to date was in 2015 when four million bottles of perfume worth Dh100 million were seized from two sites.

The estimated value of seized goods that year was Dh1 billion, dropping to Dh549 million in 2016.