Fake Chanel products confiscated
Fake Chanel products confiscated
JAKARTA (JP): Buying pricey Chanel products at exclusive shops is no guarantee that you're buying the real thing.
In fact, you might be buying an upmarket forgery from overseas.
Massive police raids on such shops in Jakarta and Bali last December seized more than 2,000 items carrying Chanel tags, according to lawyers representing the French-based designer products in this country.
The 700 counterfeit handbags, belts and accessories confiscated in Jakarta were worth more than Rp 200 million ($87,000), the law firm Dermawan & Co said in a statement.
"As they retailed for so high prices, they confused customers into believing that the counterfeits were genuine Chanel products," it said.
The targets in Bali included shops in the international and domestic waiting lounges of the Ngurah Rai international airport and large retail chain stores in the resorts of Kuta and Nusa Dua. The two-day raids discovered more than 1,300 pieces of poor to medium quality Chanel counterfeits, specifically aimed at tourists in Bali.
However, the targets in Jakarta's two-day raids were shops catering to more affluent customers, including those in Plaza Indonesia, Blok M Plaza and the International Trade Center.
Most of the low quality counterfeits were manufactured locally, but the expensive versions were imported from abroad, according to Dermawan & Co.
The raids by the police, which came at the request of Chanel, reflect the company's aggressive drive worldwide to stop the trademark infringements, the lawyers said.
The 1992 Law on Trademarks stipulate a maximum jail term of seven years and Rp 100 million for those found guilty of infringement, and one year imprisonment and Rp 50 million for those trading in the goods.
The statement did not say whether anyone had been arrested in connection with the recent raids but stressed Chanel's hope that the Indonesian authorities will prosecute those identified with the infringement.
"Chanel is very committed to put a stop to all infringement activities in Indonesia. There are plans to pursue other tougher measures and to organize more frequent raids in the near future." (emb)