Customs officials seize counterfeit shoes of int'l brands

Customs officials today seized huge quantities of counterfeit shoes kept to be sold under the name of international brands in the open market here.
Sleuths of Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB) acting on a tip-off seized 12,000 pairs of counterfeit shoes that were concealed in three containers which were declared as "unbranded ladies purse, car hanging accessories".
Investigations revealed that the goods were imported in three containers at Port Trust here allegedly by some importers from China and were kept for sale in open market by misusing the name of international brands, an official release said.
Upon examination, it was noticed that the shoes of famous brands - Nike, Adidas, Reebok concealed in the containers.

"The market value of original shoes of these brands would be around Rs 3.50 crore approximately", it said.
The issue was taken to the original manufacturers who hold the patent rights for selling these products and upon examination it revealed that the seized goods were "fake".
The shoes were neither 'originated' nor 'sourced' from the rights holders as they do not conform to the quality and standards of company which hold the rights.
The shoes imported are in violation of provisions of Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules 2007, and were seized under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962, the release added.