Pirate goods blitz continues

KATA-KARON: Some 1,400 fake items with a street value of 1.4 million baht were seized in raids on eight vendors in Kata and Karon yesterday evening, Tharadol Thongruang, Deputy Director of Phuket Commercial Affairs, said today. At 6 pm, police officers simultaneously raided two shops and two stalls opposite Mom Tri’s Boathouse & Villa Royale in Kata. Officials then moved on to Karon Circle, where they raided another shop and three more stalls. One shop was stocked with pirate CDs, while the illegal merchandise found in the other outlets consisted of imitation brand-name clothes, shoes, bags and baseball caps. “Nobody was arrested this time,” said K. Tharadol. “It’s very hard to arrest the vendors because they know us and remember our faces. As soon as we move to arrest them, they run.”