The international police agency Interpol today announced that it coordinated a massive sweep of arrests and seizures of tons of fake goods across four continents in recent months.
According to a release, more than 645 suspects have been identified or arrested so far, and more than 1,300 inquiries are underway, across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America.
“Involving officers from a range of law enforcement agencies, customs and health regulatory bodies, operations triggered raids at shops, markets, chemists, retail outlets, warehouses and border control points,” the Lyon, France-based group said. “Global seizures include 7.2 million counterfeit and illicit items weighing more than 120 tonnes and 90,000 litres of liquids. Beyond product seizures, national authorities have identified major trade routes and shut down points of sale as well as laboratories.”
The issue will be on the agenda of the Interpol International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property Crime Conference (25-26 September) in Dubai, the group said.
The full press release is here.