Counterfeit and genuine goods are displayed side by side during a seminar run by the Legal Group. Photo Courtesy The Legal Group
Counterfeit and genuine goods are displayed side by side during a seminar run by the Legal Group. Photo Courtesy The Legal Group
Counterfeit and genuine goods are displayed side by side during a seminar run by the Legal Group. Photo Courtesy The Legal Group
Counterfeit and genuine goods are displayed side by side during a seminar run by the Legal Group. Photo Courtesy The Legal Group

From toxic perfume to fake brake pads, how UAE's counterfeit trade is harming more than just the bottom line


Nick Webster
  • English
  • Arabic

Toxic perfume that irritates the skin and brake pads not fit to be used in a car are just a handful of the alarming counterfeit goods seized from the streets of the UAE.

Designer clothes and branded handbags may harm the image and bottom line of luxury retailers - but low-grade goods could damage the health of consumers, according to investigators.

Experts tasked with training law enforcement lifted the lid on some of the latest techniques used by counterfeiters, and measures to spot fake goods.

“There have been 50 or so raids that we have been involved in with counterfeit goods over the past two years in the UAE,” said Hatem Abdelghani, director of the Intellectual Property department at The Legal Group in Dubai.

“These raids happen in warehouses in industrial areas of Dubai. The counterfeiters are bringing goods into the country and then distributing them from there to other market places, or to re-export these items to other countries around the region.

“Every time we execute these raids we recover samples which are then submitted for analysis to discover exactly what the contents are, and if they pose any kind of health risk.”

Ibrahim Behzad, Director of Intellectual Property Rights Management at DED looks through a pile of counterfeit products at the DED in Al Garhoud. The products are scheduled to be distroyed and recycled. Antonie Robertson / The National
Ibrahim Behzad, Director of Intellectual Property Rights Management at DED looks through a pile of counterfeit products at the DED in Al Garhoud. The products are scheduled to be distroyed and recycled. Antonie Robertson / The National

The Legal Group has a research team dealing with gathering intelligence to find out who is selling counterfeit goods and where they are being stored.

That evidence is passed on to authorities to help plan raids and make arrests.

Dubai Customs seized Dh72.6 million worth of counterfeit goods during 133 inspections in the first six months of this year.

One Dubai raid in August 2016 by the Dubai Economic Development Department recovered and destroyed 21,632 fake Colgate Triple Action toothpaste tubes, destined to be sold in Russia.

In October last year, 140,000 fake Colgate double action toothbrushes hidden in brown boxes were seized before being exported for sale in Africa.

One of the largest recoveries in the region was in March last year when 393,740 fake toothbrushes were recovered by customs officials in Saudi Arabia.

“We are seeing a lot of counterfeit dental products, with many different brands of toothbrushes and toothpastes,” Mr Abdelghani said.

“When goods are stored they are often disguised as other items, such as dental hygiene products boxed up as spare vehicle parts.

“These traders use fake invoices to deliver the goods, so they can be hard to trace once the products have been identified as counterfeit.

“Some fake perfumes and aftershaves we have recovered are irritable to the skin and can be quite toxic.

“Most of the products are dangerous, but particularly cosmetics that have contact with skin.”

Since 2014, raids conducted on traders selling fake Colgate and Palmolive products have resulted in 30 administrative cases with the Dubai Economic Development Department, 3 criminal cases with Dubai Police, 4 administrative cases with the Sharjah Economic Development Department, 1 administrative case with Ajman Municipality and 2 criminal cases with Ajman Police.

Counterfeit handbags designed by Louis Vuitton and Chanel sit on shelves of a secret room of a store at Karama market in Dubai. Andrew Henderson / The National
Counterfeit handbags designed by Louis Vuitton and Chanel sit on shelves of a secret room of a store at Karama market in Dubai. Andrew Henderson / The National

Raids seized 735,344 fake Colgate products, 432 fake Palmolive products and 96,427 Lady Speed Stick deodorants.

Tell-tale signs of fake goods are spelling errors on poor quality packaging, or using small letters rather than capitals in brand names.

“We have been running such training programmes for years and achieved huge number of successful cases against counterfeit products,” said Marmie Santos, from The Legal Group.

“The success of our training programe has helped UAE Enforcement Authorities to be more equipped in conducting their enforcement activities against different counterfeiters.”

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In 2016, millions of fake mobile phones, cigarettes, cosmetics and other items valued at Dh1.6 billion were seized in raids by consumer protection officers, with mobile phones the most common product recovered.

Fake car parts are also a big problem.

“We are seizing a lot of fake brake pads and bearings, if these make it onto the auto market, they can be hugely dangerous so it is a big problem,” Mr Abdelghani said.

People need to be aware of what they are buying and we encourage them to question exactly why something is so cheap.

“This is crime itself and is funding further criminality. Consumers should not become part of this circle as they are feeding the industry by buying fake products.

“It is a big war against these traders, and we are trying to keep the consumer on the right side.”

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Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide

Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.

The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.

Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years

 

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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The cost of Covid testing around the world

Egypt

Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists

Information can be found through VFS Global.

Jordan

Dh212

Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.

Cambodia

Dh478

Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.

Zanzibar

AED 295

Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.

Abu Dhabi

Dh85

Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.

UK

From Dh400

Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

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6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
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6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
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7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
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7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
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RESULTS

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Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.

6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.

7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.

The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe

Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads

Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike

They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users

Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance

They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians

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Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km

How to get exposure to gold

Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.

A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.

Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.

Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.

London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long

However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.

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