Deadly Fake Goods – $1.9 Billion In Counterfeit Products Includes Rum, Shoes, Appliances

Rum is among the latest items being counterfeited by criminals in Jamaica. The bulk of the $1.9 billion worth of fake goods seized by the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime (C-TOC) Branch last year is being linked to criminals.

The seized items were put on display by the C-TOC’s top security officers during a special press conference in downtown Kingston, yesterday. They included boxes of handbags, shoes, skin-bleaching products, T-shirts, computers and other appliances, clothing, and CDs and DVDs.

Standing deadly still among the items – likening the room to display stalls strewn across downtown’s business hub – were huge drums. Deputy Superintendent Carl Berry of the C-TOC said that they contained chemicals originally intended for cleaning purposes.

They were confiscated from a makeshift distillery operated by organised thugs who were allegedly using other ingredients to turn the deadly chemicals into alcoholic beverages for consumption that smell, taste, and are even of a texture similar to some locally made products.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20170428/deadly-fake-goods-19-billion-counterfeit-products-includes-rum-shoes