Sampeng market raided, 60k pirated cups seized

Sampeng market raided, 60k pirated cups seized

Pol Col Paisit Wongmuang, centre, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, shows some of the pirated cups during a press conference at DSI headquarters in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo supplied)
Pol Col Paisit Wongmuang, centre, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, shows some of the pirated cups during a press conference at DSI headquarters in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo supplied)

Nine people were arrested and about 60,000 pirated cups of many brands seized, including Yeti coolers, when the Department of Special Investigation raided 10 locations at Sampeng market on Wednesday.

DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang said on Thursday the raid was part of an operation in response to complaints from trademark holders. The operation targeted manufacturing plants, warehouses and wholesale premises supplying the falsely branded cups.

The products bear many brandnames, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Starbucks, Stitch, Doraemon, Yeti and Harley Davidson.

The market value of the seized products was estimated at 10 million baht. The value of the equivalent number of licensed products would be about 60 million baht, Pol Col Paisit said.

Col Pinit Tangsakul, DSI's director of intellectual property, said the licensed products were available at 1,300-1,500 baht apiece, while pirated ones sold at 200 baht. 

The arrests of the eight Thai and one Chinese suspects followed a two-month investigation, he said.

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