Customs seize thousands of counterfeit shoes

Customs have seized counterfeit shoes bearing Nike and Adidas trade marks in four containers that originated from the Far East and were bound for Morocco and Algeria.

More than 27,000 pairs of fake sports shoes were discovered inside the containers over the past few days.

The Customs' monitoring unit spent days analysing the documentation of the containers, which had arrived at the Malta Freeport for trans-shipment.

The goods were described in the bill of lading as water taps and shoes but officers realised there were discrepancies between the container manifestos and the scans carried out using the Vehicle and Container Inspection System (VACIS).

The authorities contacted Nike and Adidas representatives in Malta who confirmed that the shoes were counterfeit.

Customs public relations officer Alfred Cappello said yesterday the Maltese authorities had seized 21 containers carrying counterfeit goods since the beginning of the year.

The success of Maltese Customs was lauded by Cypriot, Greek and Italian customs general directors and delegates who were in Malta for a conference last week.

"Malta has seized the largest number of counterfeit containers per capita in Europe. It is important that we keep up our efforts especially because Malta is on the EU's periphery," Mr Cappello said.