Counterfeit clippings: news in brief

Fake L.O.L Surprise dolls and trading cards seized in Germany, plus crackdowns in Thailand, Nigeria, and United Arab Emirates.

Fake L.O.L Surprise dolls and trading cards seized in Germany

MGA Entertainment’s L.O.L Surprise dolls have been a hit at Christmas for the last couple of years, and the authorities in Germany seized a big haul of the toys sent from China via Frankfurt Airport towards the end of November. Around 8,500 counterfeit dolls – which typically retail for between $6.99 and $15.99 apiece – and hundreds of thousands of counterfeit trading cards from a “well-known manufacturer” were seized valued at an estimated €386,000 (around $440,000). The seized items were sent in two separate shipments with identical consignor and consignee. Frankfurt customs seized 550,000 illicit items worth €18.7m.

Thai authorities seize $7.5m in assets in fake goods sting

A crackdown on sellers of fake goods at street markets in Patong and Chiang Mai by police in Thailand has netted 240m baht (around $7.5m) in seized assets in the space of a month, reports thethaiger.com. The assets included houses, land and cars, and two people have been arrested. The pair are suspected of a wide-ranging counterfeiting operation that saw trademark-infringing goods sold online and via street stalls that are popular with tourists. The seized products included clothing and footwear, bags, phone accessories and other consumer goods.

HP joins with Nigeria to bust fake ink networks

Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Nigerian police have identified and closed down more than a dozen criminal operations selling counterfeit printer ink cartridges after raids in Abuja, Lagos, Edo and Rivers states, reports The Nation. The raids uncovered 67,000 illicit cartridges, according to HP, which said that across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) over the last five years, approximately 12 million counterfeits and components have been seized by local authorities, supported by HP. The Nigerian operation follows similar enforcement drives in Uganda and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Cosmetics top counterfeit seizures in UAE

At least 25 million counterfeited products are seized in and United Arab Emirates (UAE) every year, with cosmetics, shampoo, toothpaste and deodorants topping the list, according to a Khaleej Times article. Last year, Dubai Economic Development Department (DED) seized over Dh280m ($76m) worth of fake goods, and shut over 6,800 Instagram accounts for selling counterfeit goods online during the first half of 2017.