Hong Kong Customs has mounted a special operation since Sept. 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 HK$16,000, have been seized as of today (Sept. 20). Three persons have been arrested.
The two brands involved are the Peninsula Hotel and Maxim's mooncakes.
The batch of counterfeit mooncakes was seized within a short period of time after receiving a report from trademark owners at the beginning of the month, and it is believed that the number of mooncakes that have been released to the market was not large, said a Customs officer.
Customs 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 authorized 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.
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