PRETORIA – Over one million counterfeit and illicit items – worth more than R100 million – were confiscated by the South African Police Service (SAPS), dealing a decisive blow to the illicit economy.
These items include counterfeit designer clothing, handbags, and labels; counterfeit mobile phone accessories and SIM cards; processed meat products and illicit cigarettes; automotive products, toys, and medicines; and agricultural stock and non-compliant products such as electrical appliances.
Also amongst the seized items are counterfeit merchandise that bears the Springboks trademark and other well-known brands. These items were seized outside the Cape Town Stadium during a recent Springbok match against a visiting country.
Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk, police spokesperson, said takedowns took place nationwide in recent weeks, but especially in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape.
Van Wyk stated the establishment of the National Counterfeit and Illicit Goods Unit in November 2023 underscores the SAPS’s ongoing commitment to disrupting and dismantling the networks behind the illegal trade in counterfeit and illicit goods.
Such activities threaten consumer health and safety, erode legitimate businesses, infringe on intellectual property rights, and undermine South Africa’s economy.
In addition, police arrested two suspects for dealing in counterfeit goods in Gauteng, one suspect for possession of illicit cigarettes, and another for contravening the Agricultural Remedies Act in KwaZulu-Natal.
The multidisciplinary operations were led by the national and provincial Counterfeit and Illicit Goods units, with support from Public Order Policing, Border Policing, Rapid Rail Police unit (RRPU), K9 units, the Department of Home Affairs, South African Revenue Service, National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, provincial drug and firearm units, metropolitan police, brand protectors, and private security.
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