R20m counterfeit consignment nabbed

Customs in Durban harbour have just nailed another container load of suspected counterfeit Bafana Bafana soccer jerseys. According to information released to FTW by SA Revenue Services (Sars), the container was a consignment of 33 000 jerseys – valued from their price tags at just under R20-million on the retail market. The box, declared to be a load of pots, was examined by officials and found to hold one row of pots, with the rest of the container filled with the illegal jerseys. It has been detained for misdeclaration. This is only one of a number of smuggling cases investigated by the authorities. For example, it followed a bust on March 19 when a tip-off alerted customs and the SA Police Service (SAPS). They raided a warehouse in Durban and seized a truck-load of undeclared sports clothing items, again including counterfeit soccer jerseys. Customs at OR Tambo International Aiport (Ortia) have also been busy detaining suspected counterfeit SA soccer jerseys. Over an 11-day period at the end of April they nailed various consignments coming in from Qatar, Hong Kong and China. They detained a total of 26 984 Bafana Bafana strips – with 17 970 of them finally destined for Swaziland and Botswana. Sars has urged members of the public to contact the fraud and anti corruption hotline at 0800 00 28 70 to report any suspicious business activity.