TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Customs officials in Keelung seized 71 boxes of sea freight containing 208,000 fake Made-in-Taiwan masks last Friday (Aug. 14).
As the pandemic continues to rage in many parts of the world, masks made in Taiwan have been in high demand. This created an uptick of cheap counterfeits of unclear origins claiming to be Taiwanese masks, which has prompted a crackdown by customs officials and led to several recent seizures, CNA reported.
According to statistics from the Customs Administration, officials reported a total of 454 cases of knock-off masks in just seven days from Aug. 10 to Aug. 16. Customs seized 9,604 boxes each containing 50 masks, for a total of 480,206 imitation masks.
Customs officials said seizures have been made on air and sea freight. On Aug. 14 alone, Keelung customs officials reported 60 separate cases that led to the discovery of the 71 boxes totalling 208,000 counterfeit masks.
Authorities are urging Taiwanese consumers not to buy masks of uncertain origin or ones that are unclearly labeled online. Tightened border inspections are being carried out jointly by the Customs Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Bureau of Foreign Trade.
