Not-so-haute couture: counterfeit luxury items seized

Counterfeit designer sunglasses, accessories and jewellery were seized by Australian Border Force (ABF) after a man allegedly attempted to bring 493 trademark-infringing items into the country.

The Victorian man from Morwell in Gippsland was returning from a trip to Vietnam on September 17 when border authorities flagged five boxes.

Inside were sunglasses branded with designer names including Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Dior, Balenciaga, Versace and Burberry, ABF said.

Officers also allegedly found accessories and imitation jewellery claiming to be from Prada, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Bvlgari and YSL.

This report comes a day after the ABF seized more than 1400 toys, suspected to be counterfeit, at Perth International Airport.

The passenger, who was returning to Australia from Thailand, allegedly intended to sell the toys at the Royal Perth Show and had declared to border authorities he was carrying commercial goods.

ABF officers inspected the stuffed toys, pencil cases, key rings and hair clips and found they appeared to be breaching intellectual property laws.

The ABF seized more than 112,000 items in the 2023 financial year valued at almost $40 million in estimated street value.

Superintendent Vesna Gavranich said knock-off luxury handbags or shoes were not the only counterfeit items entering our country.

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“There are serious health, safety and environmental concerns over fake versions of products including children’s toys, cosmetics, batteries, even safety equipment like airbags,” Superintendent Gavranich said.

“These items were intended for the Royal Show and likely not safe for children to the degree expected by the community.

“When making purchase choices remember that ‘if it looks too good to be true, it usually is’. The risk to your health is not worth the few dollars you might save.”

Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia CEO Robyn Sermon said they work with ‘the licence holders of various products, to inspect and make sure no one is in breach of counterfeit licence conditions”.

“It’s a condition of being an exhibitor that you have appropriate licences, and we inspect goods on-site,” she said.