More than 12 officers from ECD and Kathu police led by Maj Apichart Amornpradit carried out raids on shops on Bangla Rd resulting in the seizure of counterfeit goods valued at over B500,000. Items seized included sunglasses, purses, watches and others products.
Maj Apichart said, “Officers raided four locations and arrested two men. The two men were taken to Kathu Police Station to face charges of possession of counterfeit items with intent to sell. If found guilty they will be sentenced to up to four years in prison or face a fine of no more than B400,000.”
He explained, “The raids came after Royal Thai Police office in Bangkok was notified that shops along Bangla Rd have been selling fake goods to tourists, so we contacted Kathu police and visited the area.
“When we came to the area on Monday afternoon we were surprised to find that most of the shops were closed. We suspect that the vendors were alerted of our visit so they closed their shops and fled the area,” he said.
“We returned that night and discovered the shops were open. Officers searched four locations known to sell fake goods to tourists and discovered that two of the four shops that were full of counterfeit items,” he added.