Over 1 million fake printing supplies seized in UAE raids

HP today announced that its Anti-counterfeit Program in EMEA (Europe, Middle-East, Africa) has supported law enforcement officials in the UAE in the largest single seizure of counterfeit HP products to date. The raids on counterfeiters followed an investigation by HP, leading to the confiscation of more than one million fake printer cartridges and components.

During simultaneous raids on five premises across Ajman and Dubai in April 2013, officials confiscated around 150,000 laser print cartridges, 100,000 fake cartridge boxes, nearly 50,000 security labels and over 750,000 empty print cartridges.

“HP welcomes this momentous seizure, which strikes a significant blow against the production and distribution of illicit printing supplies by criminal organisations in the Middle East,” said David Cooper, Director HP Global Anti-counterfeiting Program.

“It is encouraging to see that our support led directly to the largest seizure of fake items since we began the Anti-counterfeiting Program in 2006.”

Rami Kamel, representative for the Ajman Police Unit, said: “This seizure demonstrates our determination to protect consumers from illegal products which trick them out of money. If they work at all, counterfeit cartridges provide poor results and may damage your printer, leading to costly repairs or replacement. We appreciate HP’s assistance and applaud their continued investigation of counterfeiting activity which helps us to find and prosecute criminals.”

Such actions help to prevent the spread of illegal fakes throughout the Middle East and beyond. During the raids, officials gained valuable insight into counterfeiting networks which will be used for further investigations to protect honest traders and their customers.

Across EMEA, over the last four years, HP has conducted nearly 1,000 investigations, resulting in over 800 enforcement actions (raids and seizures by authorities) and nearly nine million units of counterfeit products and components seized, thus preventing them from being sold in the EMEA marketplace and beyond.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.