​Hong Kong Customs has mounted a special operation since September 14 to combat the online sale of counterfeit mooncakes. A total of 49 boxes of suspected counterfeit mooncakes, with a total estimated market value of about $16,000, have been seized as of today (September 20). Three persons have been arrested.
Customs earlier received information from trademark owners alleging that suspected counterfeit mooncakes were on sale through some online platforms. Customs officers then conducted detection and analysis through a big-data analytics system and targeted a number of online platform accounts for investigation.
Later, Customs officers posed as customers and conducted test purchases online. Also, after an in-depth investigation and with the assistance of trademark owners, enforcement actions were conducted on consecutive days. During the operation, Customs officers raided two online platform accounts suspected of selling counterfeit mooncakes. A commercial premises in Mong Kok and a residential premises in Tsz Wan Shan were also searched, resulting in seizures of the batch of suspected counterfeit mooncakes.
During the operation, one man and two women, aged between 28 and 41, were arrested.
An investigation is ongoing. Customs is looking into the source of the mooncakes involved in the cases, and samples have been sent to the Government Laboratory for safety testing.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival around the corner, Customs will continue to step up inspections and enforcement to combat the counterfeiting activities of the sale of festive food and goods.
Customs appeals to consumers to purchase goods at physical shops or online shops with a good reputation and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.
Customs also reminds online sellers not to sell counterfeit goods and to be cautious and prudent in merchandising since selling counterfeit goods is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal sanctions.
Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected counterfeiting activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).
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