Counterfeiters beware – you’re being watched

Date: 30/10/03

THE EU had bad news for the villains flooding the world with fake goods this week: our customs men and women are on to you.

In the unlikely surroundings of building 706 at the Zaventem cargo terminal, officers from old and new member states alike showed their determination to turn back the counterfeit tide.

They have the confidence of industry, too. A posse of lawyers and executives from toymaker Lego, soap giant Proctor and Gamble and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry lavished praise on their skills at this specially organized spot-search of incoming flights, set up by the European Commission and the Belgian Customs and Excise department.

Even the much-maligned Commission got a wonderful endorsement from firms, for its efforts to train-up new member states, bolster coordination, and propose workable rules, such as new regulations giving customs extra powers next summer.

But, whispered quietly at this week's showpiece, there was also good news for the pedlars of fakes: we simply haven't got enough manpower.

“It is a key issue everywhere,”.said British official Jagit Singh as we awaited a late Korean Air jet. “We just heard that 500 customs posts are being lost in Sweden. In the UK customs posts are falling.”

Zaventem's dedicated team has done a remarkable job spotting illegal goods, many jetting in and out of the Belgian capital in as little as 100 minutes.

However, staffing levels are such that the 'Group Anti-Drugs', which as its name suggests also targets narcotics, together with items such as paedophile material, even counts its sniffer dog among its eleven full-time staff.

The Swedish jobs cull could have an immediate impact in the Union.

Experts fear the country could be an EU entry point for goods shipped via neighbouring Norway, where intellectual property rules are relatively weak.

The flight from Seoul landed, and the drama began. Teams of officials split up to check paperwork such as the aircraft's 'manifest' and 'airway bills', which give scant information about individual consignments - many destined for far-flung final destinations in Africa.

From the latter, they chose a hit-list of suspect items they would like to check after their Belgian hosts helped to sift out goods destined for reputable local companies.

Packages where all duties and taxes have been pre-paid are deemed high risk - because contact with authorities down the line is less. Any deliveries paid for in cash also set off alarm bells because cash payments don't have a paper trail linking them to the sender.

The border watchdogs eventually decided to target a selection ranging from a pallet of unidentified metal discs to small butterfly stud earrings.

All were eventually given a clean bill of health, though extra checks were made on some Teflon-coated 'Impidimpi' brand children's coats destined for Morocco.

And the man from Versace was relieved to find that a pallet-load of suspect 'imitation' bags turned out to be the sort you would sling over your shoulder on a trip back from the supermarket rather than wear on the catwalk.

With deadlines to meet, it was time for your correspondent to pack up his notepad. But the afternoon promised a richer bounty. First was a Cathay Pacific jumbo from Hong Kong, then jets from Turkey and Dubai, laden with goods on their tortuous route to Europe and beyond.

At the same time, Belgium's huge Antwerp port acted out a similar publicity coup. So many planes and ships! But, today aside, so few customs officials.

Article looks at the work of customs officers.