KINGSTON – Jamaica police say they have seized several counterfeit goods as students prepare to return to school early next month.
The Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) said there has been an increase in the sale of counterfeit goods.
Assistant Superintendent Victor Barrett, head of the Intellectual Property Unit at C-TOC, is urging people to be on the lookout for fake brands, warning that law enforcement authorities would be increase their surveillance against the illicit trade.
“When you look at the counterfeit barometer, there was a down tick and suddenly . . . there has been an uptick in the counterfeit barometer and as such the police we are going to ramp up our operations.
“What we are doing here is within the tandem of the trade mark act. So we are enforcing the law,” he said, noting that at a business place in Spanish Town, St Catherine, the police acting on intelligence “and on close inspection we discovered a large quantity of counterfeit shoes”.
He said the counterfeit shoes, bearing several reputable brand names, were valued at JMD$20 million have since been seized. (CMC)