Hair straighteners and Viagra among customs seizures

VIAGRA and hair straighteners were among the main items confiscated as customs officials more than doubled the amount of counterfeit goods they seized last year.

The number of interceptions was well above the EU average of 13%, according to figures just published by the European Commission.

The last three months of the year were particularly busy for the authorities as they made 343 seizures.

Dave Godwin, head of Customs’ criminal investigation branch, said most of these were goods ordered on the internet and sent through the post.

“The main seizures in the latter half of the year were DVDs from China, Viagra from India and GHD hair straighteners.”

He said he was surprised given all the warnings about medicines in particular, that people were risking ordering them on the internet.

They also made substantial seizures of batteries, 58,000 in all, 28,000 pairs of sports shoes and 139,000 packets of papers for roll-your-own cigarettes.

Across the EU, the goods seized included cigarettes, medicines, DVDs, toys and electrical equipment. More than half came from China and a quarter came through the post.

Counterfeit goods cost member states countless millions in lost taxes, mean artists do not get paid copyright and the goods can also be dangerous to consumers.

Mr Godwin said they are particularly concerned about goods that are dangerous such as counterfeit medicines, aircraft and car parts and even alcohol.

“We have a dual role,” he said, to prevent tax being lost to the state through smuggling and to prevent goods that are unsafe being put on the market.

An estimated 20 million of the 178 million articles seized EU-wide last year were potentially dangerous to the health and safety of users, the EU Commission report said.

European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs, Laszlo Kovacs, said fighting the trade in counterfeit goods was imperative because of the danger to consumers but also because of its links to organised crime.

The list of goods seized was topped by CDs and DVDs followed by cigarettes and clothing and accessories. But the biggest increase was in DVDs, medicines, toys and cigarettes.

The most popular counterfeit medicines were Viagra followed by anti-cholesterol, anti-osteoporosis or medicines to control hypertension. These come mostly from India.

China, from where 54% of goods seized originated, signed an agreement with the EU earlier this year to cooperate in the fight against counterfeits.

Increasingly smuggling through the post is being intercepted though air and sea remain the most popular modes of transport.

The job of detection has been more difficult as people order goods on the internet, Mr Kovacs said.