Customs raids net B2.6m in fake goods
PHUKET: In a week of raids starting on May 7, Phuket Customs seized counterfeit and allegedly smuggled goods with a total estimated value of 2.6 million baht.
Many of the seized goods were sent to Phuket by parcel delivery services, arriving on the island by bus from Bangkok.
Pirated goods seized included music CDs, movie and game CDs and DVDs, D&G shoulder bags, Levi’s wallets, designer-label watches, hands-free sets for mobile phones, plastic air-powered handguns and rifles, and cheap copy Brembo “high-performance” car brake calipers.
Also seized was a Rover car, valued at about 400,000 baht.
Vichak Apirugnunchai, Director of the Customs Department’s Bangkok-based Investigation and Suppression Division, said, “We received an order to be on the lookout for pirated goods in Phuket, especially goods sent to Phuket by bus.
“We moved quickly to inspect many places, including offices of express delivery companies where parcels sent by bus are unloaded,” he said.
On May 7, Customs officers seized 250 watches and 148 sets of pirated high-performance brake calipers, with a total value of about 523,000 baht, at SP Express company on Thepkrasattri Rd Soi 7 in Rasada.
The next day, 25 fake plastic guns, valued at about 62,500 baht, were seized at the Central Tour company office on Dibuk Rd, in Phuket City.
On May 9, also in Phuket City, officers seized 5,350 pirated DVDs at Kaochareon Express Delivery Co Ltd on Ong Sim Pai Rd. The DVDs were valued at about 1,337,500 baht.
On May 12, officers seized 260 pirated shoulder bags valued at 390,000 baht at the Speed Express office located in Soi Sunthorn Uthit, off Chao Fa West Rd.
On Tuesday, Customs officers seized a Rover car parked on Komarapat Rd in Phuket City, just one street away from Phuket City Police Station.
“We don’t know whether the car originated from Malaysia or Singapore, but it was illegally imported into Thailand. It is possible that the car was smuggled in to be sold without paying import duty,” said Chief Inspector Tawal Rodjit, also of the Investigation and Suppression Division.
