The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai recently raided two warehouses and seized over one million pieces of counterfeit cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. The confiscated products, which claimed to be weight loss drugs, performance enhancers or cosmetics, were worth around US$4.5M at market price. The raids were conducted by special teams from the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector of the DED. Among the confiscated goods, those meant for the local market will be destroyed while those which were intended to be stored for re-export will be sent back to their country of origin. In addition, the DED will also be issuing fines to the violators. Abdullah Al Shehi, Director of the Intellectual Property Protection Department at the CCCP, said “We monitor the market and take action against those violating trademarks, as such steps are necessary to protect Dubai’s reputation as a trading hub and preferred business destination.” (ameinfo.com, 7 September 2014)
