Police in Papua New Guinea’s industrial city will combine with relevant authorities to clamp down on stores selling fake products, says Lae Police Boss Anthony Wagambie.
He made this comment after Lae Police confiscated counterfeit shoes and charged a man of Asian origin.
The 690 shoes would have fetched a handsome K500, 000 if sold on the shelves.
The original blue and grey-colored adult footwear are labelled as GM 23 GOLDMINE while the counterfeit children’s footwear is branded as GM 21 goldmine.
The shop was recently built and commenced operations on July 8, 2016.
“Police detectives led by Detective Inspector Isaac Mol were acting upon complaint of counterfeit products being sold on shelves of predominantly Chinese shops,” Metropolitan Superintendent Wagambie stated in the police brief.
“Police went through the Customs Import entries as well as Bill of lading and found that the products were actually coming from somewhere else apart from the original manufacturer.
“This time Police confiscated 57 pairs of counterfeit GM Goldmine shoes. The suspect’s passport has been surrendered to Police and he was formally arrested and charged. He appeared at the Lae District Court on 12th of August 2016 for mention.”
This is the fourth arrest made so far on Chinese shop owners for selling counterfeit products.
“I am warning Chinese shop owners, that PNG is not a dumping ground for cheap fake products. You want to do business here, and then do it properly within the laws governing this country,” Wagambie warned.