No stone was left unturned in a three day operation that took place in Cape Town on the first weekend of the official holiday season that opened on 16 December 2010.
While many tourists were basking in the beautiful weather that Cape Town offered,various government departments worked non-stop from 16 to 20 December to confiscate counterfeit, sub-standard and poisonous goods that are illegally sold in informal trading markets in the Kuilsriver and Strand areas. Such goods do not only mislead consumers but also jeopardise their health.
The Department of Trade and Industry’s inspectors appointed in terms of the Counterfeit Goods Act, No 37 of 1997 led the operation that included officials from the City of Cape Town, Business Area Management, Department of Home Affairs, Immigration and various divisions of the Department of Agriculture. The South African Police Service, through their Crime Intelligence Sea Border Unit, and Port of Entry Cape Town Harbour Unit followed up on distribution channels and importation routes.
Intelligence was gathered to assist in identifying the importers of these illegal goods, who are often found to be perpetrators of other serious crimes such as the smuggling of drugs. The safety and security matters of this operation was handled by the Cape Town Metro Police Department and Cape Town Law Enforcement, which was key to the success of the operation.
Goods confiscated from more than 60 stalls included counterfeit clothing items, with well known brand names such as Billabong, Nike, Roxy, Lacoste, Levi and many more. Clothing items bearing the Rugby trade marks, (Stormers, Blue Bulls, Sharks and Springbok) and many Oakley and Ray Ban sunglasses were also taken. The values of the goods are estimated at more than R5 million but the real value of the damage caused to the reputation of the legitimate brands and the harm to consumers is priceless.
Counterfeit goods and those sub-standard goods that enter our shores illegally continue to cripplle the manufacturing and the clothing and textile sectors of our economy and the Department of Trade and Industry will continue to coordinate with other government departments to curb the influx of such goods.
Sidwell Moloantoa Medupe
Tel: 012 394 1750
Cell: 079 4921774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Source: Department of Trade and Industry
