Macedonian Customs Seize Car Players, Apparel, Sneakers, Watches

During regular controls at Macedonia’s border crossings in the period January 16-February 12, 2012, the customs officials seized a considerable quantity of goods bearing well-known brand names, believed to be counterfeit.

In the week of January 16-22, the customs officials seized 500 MP3 car players bearing the mark of BMW, 173 watches bearing the marks of Emporio Armani, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Hugo Boss, Guess and Esprit, 400 iPad2 cases bearing the mark of Apple, and 1,030 mobile phone spare parts (chargers, cases, masks and headphones) bearing the marks of iPhone, Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

On January 25, the officials seized 1,610 tracksuits bearing the mark of Adidas, 835 blouses, jeans and belts bearing the mark of Armani, 183 blouses bearing the mark of Polo, 64 pairs of jeans bearing the mark of Tommy Hilfiger, 121 tracksuits and jeans bearing the mark of Burberry, 1,555 belts and jeans bearing the mark of Diesel, 35 pairs of jeans bearing the mark of Gucci, 598 blouses and belts bearing the mark of Dolce & Gabbana, 202 belts bearing the mark of Boss, 82 belts bearing the mark of G-Star, and 30 handbags bearing the mark of Louis Vuitton, all with a market value of USD 254,000 (EUR 192,000).

On January 30, the officials seized 600 pairs of sneakers bearing the mark of Adidas, with a market value of USD 26,000 (EUR 19,600), while in the week of January 31–February 5, the officials seized 360 cases and 50 mobile phone holders bearing the mark of iPhone.

In the week of February 6-12, the customs officials seized 64 pairs of sneakers bearing the marks of Adidas, Nike and Puma.

The goods, which were found in trucks with Macedonian, Turkish and Bulgarian license plates, originated in China and Turkey, and were intended for the Kosovo and Macedonian markets.

For more information, please contact Aleksandra Pavlovic at our Macedonia office.

Source: Macedonian Customs