Hong Kong customs makes largest haul of fake liquor in 2 decades with 1,300 bottles seized
Industrial site raid uncovers HK$2.9 million of supplies bearing brand names such as Kweichow Moutai, Hennessy and Macallan, Post learns
Hong Kong customs has seized its largest haul of counterfeit liquor in two decades, arresting the proprietor of a wine supplier and confiscating more than 1,300 bottles of fake brand-name spirits, with some priced up to HK$30,000 (US$3,850) each.
The Post learned that HK$2.9 million haul – bearing the names of popular brands Kweichow Moutai, Hennessy and Macallan – was discovered during a raid on an industrial unit in Kwai Chung on Tuesday last week.
Senior inspector Ng Ka-chun of customs’ intellectual property investigation bureau said on Thursday that the unit was used by the company as a warehouse, but its 70-year-old owner was arrested in another site used as his office in the same building.
“We believe the supplier deliberately set up an office and its warehouse in two different locations in an effort to avoid detection from customs officers,” Ng said.
He said the company did not set up a website to promote its business and the proprietor allegedly contacted his regular clients by phone to sell them knock-off spirits.
Ng added the supplier claimed the goods were parallel-import products – legal imports of genuine goods from overseas – and offered at lower prices to attract buyers.