Law enforcement officers raid for counterfeit goods in Johannesburg, 7 August 2019, and uncovered an arms cache that included AK47 and other assault rifles. Police Minister Bheki Cele, inspected the areas where police were raiding. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
KwaZulu-Natal police have seized R5m worth of counterfeit goods, during an operation in the Durban Central area on Friday.
“The operation was preceded by months of intensive intelligence gathering as well as meticulous investigations by detectives. After sufficient intelligence had been gathered a search and seizure warrant was applied for,” explained provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker.
The joint operation saw representatives from the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigations, Provincial Crime Intelligence, Provincial Commercial Crime Unit, Durban Central Detectives, Durban Central Vispol, Public Order Police, Tactical Response Team, Police Emergency Services, K9 Unit, Metro Police, Home Affairs, Brand Representatives and South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) executing search warrants at three boutique clothing stores.
These resulted in the confiscation of clothing under brands such as as G-Star, Diesel, Hugo Boss, Puma and Christian Louboutin.
Another three stores were searched and Schedule 4 and unregistered lotions were seized, with a value of R33 000. Five people were arrested during the bust, with a sixth person charged for being an undocumented foreigner, says Naicker.
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