Fake Unilever, P&G shampoos seized in Latin America

400 tonnes of counterfeit shampoo made in China and with an estimated market value of up to €5m have been intercepted in Latin America.

The operation was supported by the EU’s anti-fraud office (OLAF), which monitored the shipment from its origins in China through to seizures in Colombia and Mexico, as part of an effort to prevent it reaching the European market.

“OLAF received information in January 2019 about the dismantling of an illegal factory in China producing counterfeit shampoo,” said the agency in a statement.

“A large cargo of shampoo had already left the factory by sea. OLAF feared it might be headed for Europe and monitored its journey out of the Chinese ports starting mid-January.”

The shipment's route was complex, including passage and stops in different ports - in China, Korea, Mexico and Colombia - and loading and unloading on various vessels, and was monitored by OLAF using specialised software which gathers real-time data from vessels and ports around the world.

Counterfeit versions of big brands including Unilever’s Dove and Procter & Gamble’s Head & Shoulders and Pantene products.