Hong Kong Police seizes counterfeit Louis Vuitton branded mooncakes
The counterfeit luxury-brand mooncakes have an estimated value of over €70,000, and four people were arrested in the sting. The mooncake is a delicacy that is a crucial part of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, which this year will take place on 21 September.
Traditional mooncakes are consumed in China and across East Asia to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and are usually made from red bean paste or lotus seed paste inside a pastry often containing yolks from salted duck eggs.
Mooncakes are a traditional gift during the festival, and luxury brands have in the last few years moved into the mooncake gifting space. They are usually given as a high-end offering for business contacts. As a result, the trend has also spawned a black market in counterfeit mooncakes.
Hong Kong Customs has seized a total of 114 boxes of suspected counterfeit mooncakes with an estimated market value of about HK$650,000. In the operation, four people were arrested.
According to the South China Morning Post, it was the first time that Hong Kong Customs seized counterfeit Louis Vuitton mooncakes, as counterfeit mooncakes from catering company Maxim’s and Peninsula Hotel were also found. The total estimated market value of the haul was HK$650,000, the largest in the past five years.
Customs said earlier that it received information from a trademark owner who alleged that suspected counterfeit mooncakes were put on sale through some online platforms. After that, officers took enforcement actions on consecutive days and raided four online platform accounts selling suspected counterfeit mooncakes. Two residential premises in Tuen Mun and Kam Tin, an industrial unit in Tuen Mun and a mini-storage in Sheung Wan were also searched, resulting in seizures of the batch of suspected counterfeit mooncakes and other suspected counterfeit goods, including perfume, cosmetics and kitchenware.
One man and three women aged between 25 and 34 were arrested during the operation. Customs said it was looking into the source of the mooncakes and samples were sent to the Government Laboratory for safety testing.
Customs said consumers should purchase goods at shops or online shops with a good reputation and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt. It also reminded online sellers not to sell counterfeit goods and to be cautious as offenders selling counterfeit goods are liable to criminal sanctions.
Customs added that as the Mid-autumn Festival is around the corner, it will continue to step up inspections and enforcement to combat the sale of festive counterfeit food items and counterfeit goods.
