Authorities destroyed 90 tonnes of seized counterfeit merchandise, worth over 1.48 billion baht, on Wednesday.
Workers put all counterfeit items on the ground at the Crime Suppression Division on Wednesday before they are destroyed. (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)
The mountain of goods, including items such as clothes, bags, shoes, car parts and compact discs, were crushed by streamrollers at the Crime Suppression Division.
Deputy Commerce Minister Nattawut Saikuar and representatives from the Intellectual Property Department, Customs Department and Department of Special Investigation (DSI), as well as the Royal Thai Police took part in the event.
“The large quantity of seized counterfeit merchandise could mean two things, either the crackdowns on these type of goods have become more efficient or people committing this sort of crime are no longer afraid of the law,” said Mr Nattawut.
From January to June, police, the DSI, and Customs have confiscated over 1.78 million counterfeit items in 5,996 cases.
The number of cases has increased by 4% from 2012. However, the amount of seized counterfeit goods has decreased by 55.68%.