KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry here has disposed of goods seized worth RM1.2mil.
Ministry deputy secretary (user empowerment and management) Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the disposal of these items were part of its mega disposal ceremony at Kompleks Sentral Segambut on Thursday (Feb 22).
"Various seized items worth RM1.2 mil were disposed of, including clothes such as sports shirts and trousers, shoes, slippers, watches, handbags, mobile phone accessories, vehicle parts, perfumes and liquor,” he said.
He added that the items seized were from cases involving the Trademark Act 2019, the Trade Description Act 2011, the Copyright Act 1987 as well as the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011,Direct Selling and Anti-Pyramid Scheme Act and the Consumer Protection Act 1999.
Zakaria said this when speaking to the media at the Ministry's Komplex Sentral Segambut storage facility on Thursday.
He said records show that the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur office has seized over RM5.8mil of items involved through 146 cases last year.
"In 2022 they seized over RM7.5mil worth of items through 152 cases, while in 2021 they seized RM22.1mil worth of items through 549 cases,” said Zakaria.
"Our aim is to eradicate the sale of counterfeit goods and the Ministry is committed to combating this issue," he said, adding that last year 129 cases were reported involving 85,000 counterfeit goods worth RM3.71mil.
He reminded owners of premises to always be vigilant of the activities of tenants as they could also be charged for various offences if said premise was being used for illicit activities.
"Our enforcement officers will carry out continuous inspections and monitoring. This approach allows enforcement to be carried out more effectively so that action can be taken against individuals or companies that sell counterfeit goods," he said.
Meanwhile a team from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living's Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Selangor offices together with the Immigration Department and Kuala Lumpur City Hall conducted a counterfeit goods operation at Petaling Street on Wednesday (Feb 21).
The Ministry's Kuala Lumpur office director Ariffin Samsudin said they monitored the situation there for two weeks before conducting the operations.
"This is the fourth time operations have been carried out since March 2023 following a report from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the widespread sale of fake goods at Petaling Street,” he said.
Ariffin added that 12 stores suspected of having been used as storage areas for counterfeit branded watches, shoes, handbags and wallets were raided.
"All the items have been confiscated because of suspected trademark misuse," he said, adding that two local women believed to be store owners were also detained.
He said the raiding team seized 6,250 suspected counterfeit items consisting of bags, wallets and handbags and branded watches.
"The value of this seizure is estimated to be worth RM300,000,” said Ariffin.
He said the items seized were believed to have originated from other countries, adding that these counterfeit items were sold for between RM80 and RM1,000 each.
