Detectives arrest fake toiletry makers

TANGERANG (JP): Local police detectives here caught eight men red-handed processing numerous fake toiletry products in an early-morning raid at Kampung Melayu in Teluknaga on Tuesday.

Hundreds of empty used bottles and boxes along with hundreds of ready-to-be-distributed packages of the fake shampoo and baby talc were seized from their possession, Tangerang Police chief Lt. Col. Pudji Hartanto Iskandar told the media.

"We're still questioning the eight suspects. We really hope their information will lead us to arrest the ringleader," Pudji said.

Most of the counterfeit shampoo was packed in used bottles of popular brands, such as Sunsilk and Wella.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the eight, aged between 31 and 45, bought the used bottles and boxes (for the baby talc) from scavengers at Rp 300 (3 U.S. cents) each.

The suspects made the fake products by using chemicals bought from a pharmacy, Pudji said.

"They then sold the bogus products to residents in Tangerang for between Rp 1,500 and Rp 2,000 each," he said.

Pudji gave no details about the suspects' operation but said they were very well organized and had run the illegal business for several months.

Some locals recalled that the phony shampoo and talc were offered by door-to-door sellers, particularly in slum areas in Tangerang.

Like Jakarta, Tangerang has witnessed a great number of products being offered at relatively cheap prices.

In many cases, the sellers claim the cheap products are issued by their original producers in an attempt to survive the current financial crisis. Sometimes, the products are covered with plastic sheet or kept in boxes.

"Instead of giving us money for our salaries, our stingy boss gave us a bulky amount of these bath soaps which we produced in our factory as compensation," one of the traders said.

The products, mostly household goods, included soap, shampoo, cooking oil and detergent.

In an effort to enlarge the distribution of the fake items, the producers often hired housewives at housing complexes and female employees of other companies to help sell the products.

Pudji hoped that the owner of the Kampung Melayu illegal business, identified as TR, 56, would give himself up to the police soon in a bid to simplify his prosecution. (41/bsr)