Customs officials confiscate counterfeit goods worth R10m

© Anna Yakimova – 123RF.com

In a statement on Thursday, Sars said the incident happened during a special high-visibility operation at Rawsonville Weighbridge off the N1 - 20 km south of Worcester on 10 November.

The operation saw traffic and customs officials redirecting all trucks carrying goods from the N1 to the Weighbridge, in order to detect possible illicit goods and collect all revenue due.

Customs officials searched a truck carrying two vessel containers, one 20ft, the other 40ft, en-route to Johannesburg from Cape Town.

After opening the 20ft container, officers discovered what seemed to be second hand truck tyres and rims.

They then opened the 40ft container, where they found heavy machinery, heavy boxes of unbranded goods and rubber sheets etc.

However, further inspections revealed boxes containing branded clothing and footwear hidden in the back of the container.

There were a total of 86 boxes containing the following brands and quantities:

• 1,500 pairs of Lacoste takkies
  
• 2,200 pairs of Nike takkies
  
• 1,936 Adidas t-shirts
  
• 96 pairs of John Foster shoes

The goods were confiscated and detained for further investigation.