The Customs Department yesterday announced details of its biggest ever haul of counterfeit goods passing through Malta and bound for North Africa.
The value of the goods, which originated from the Far East, runs into millions of liri and it is highly likely that some of the goods would have found their way back to Europe.
The haul was also one of the biggest ever registered by international Customs. International organisations such as the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the European Union have already been informed of the haul and congratulated the Maltese Customs Department for its efforts.
The Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Tony Abela said the haul, made up of 13, six-metre containers and four 12-metre containers, included fake Puma, Nike, Timberland and Adidas goods.
They included more than 85,000 pairs of fake branded shoes, 8,500 fake branded jackets, 11,500 other pairs of shoes and nine million cigarettes.
Mr Abela said legal representatives of the brands' agents in Malta would be contacted so that the brands' owners could assume responsibility and court action could be initiated.
Asked whether the items could be passed on to the tsunami victims rather than being destroyed, Mr Abela said that items would be confiscated by the courts. Once court proceedings were over, what was not branded and remained unclaimed would be given to charity but branded wear would be passed on to the respective parent companies that would decide what to do with it.
Nike representative Alfie Borg said when contacted yesterday said that since the goods were not intended for Malta, the brand's local legal representatives would be looking into the issue. However, he said he could not imagine the brand breaching counterfeit legislation by giving the fake goods to anyone.
Mr Abela said the haul showed the professionalism of Malta's Customs Department. Workers, he said, had shown they were true and loyal to their jobs and were giving an example of how work should be done.
Malta, he added, wanted the Freeport to be successful but the country was also sending out a clear message that it would not tolerate being used for such purposes.
Customs controller John Mifsud said the worst message the country could give Europe and other Customs organisations was that there were not enough controls on international shipping in Malta.
The Customs operation started on December 20. Several department sections investigated contents declarations and a number of containers suspected of carrying non-declared goods were x-rayed by the Vacis machine, which had been obtained through US assistance.
In recognition of this useful work, the firm Philip Morris International recently presented the Customs Department with a computer, digital cameras and mobile phones.
The department has also been informed that the WCO is to present it with a number of merit certificates in recognition of the successes scored last year.