The Durban-based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team recovered branded cellphones and accessories with an estimated value of more than R19 million at the container terminal in Bayhead, Durban.
Durban — A suspect appeared in court after the Hawks recovered electronics worth R19 million in Durban.
Hawks KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson, Captain Bonnie Nxumalo, said that a foreign national, Farroq Usman, 29, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, July 20, for contravention of the Counterfeit Goods Act.
Nxumalo said that last month, the Durban-based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team was alerted to a container with counterfeit goods at the container terminal in Bayhead in Durban that was shipped from China.
“A search and seizure operation was conducted which led to the recovery of cellphones and accessories branded with Samsung, Apple, Sony, Huawei, Nokia and Vodafone trademarks with an estimated value of more than R19 million,” Nxumalo said.
“An investigation was conducted which led the Hawks to the owner of the items who was later summoned to appear in court on Thursday. The matter was postponed to August 2, 2023.”
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, police officers identified a vessel and stopped a container which was carrying counterfeit goods at the Durban Harbour in the early hours of May 10, 2023.
At the time, police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that officers were performing their routine risk profiling when they identified a cold storage container whose details looked suspicious.
“The container was correctly searched at a depot in Isipingo and tons of counterfeit items of well-known clothing brands worth approximately R400 million were recovered,” Netshiunda said.
He said that the container came from an Asian country and the police started the process to establish the intended destination and the possible recipients.
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Daily News