The Swiss platform for fight against counterfeiting and piracy ” Stop Piracy ” informs that according to the latest statistics from the General Directorate of Customs, in 2013, the Swiss customs offices have intervened 5500 times to retain counterfeit goods. The data shows that 75% of the detained shipments originated from China, while as for the tourist traffic, the counterfeits ” were mainly imported from Turkey .”
According to the statistics the number of customs interventions remains high. It `s also important to note that some cases are not part of the customs statistics , and sometimes it comes to several articles during one intervention(which are not reflected by the statistics report).
Handbags, travel bags or wallets are in tourist traffic and merchandise trafficking . Statistics also reveal that these articles are followed by accessories such as sunglasses, clothing and medicines, which are mostly ordered over the Internet. Lukas Lüthi, General Secretary of the STOP PIRACY Association said: ” There are no current statistics on the extent of the phenomenon and the damages to the Swiss economy. But what is certain is that
Counterfeiters do not invest in research and development and they do not
pay taxes and social charges. These are counterfeiters who harm the economy and destroy jobs. ”
This information highlights the need of international efforts for fighting against the counterfeit goods industry.
According to “Stop Piracy” Europole and the Report of the beginning of the year of the UN agency for the fight against crime, drugs and terrorism, both lead to the conclusion that the counterfeit business is ” in the hands of criminal organizations, such as the Camorra, the Yakuza and the Chinese Triads.“
