The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has seized 360,000 items falsely labelled with luxury brand names, in Nakhon Nayok province and in Bang Bon district of Bangkok.
Raids targeted 12 outlets at markets in Nakhon Nayok and a Bang Bon district warehouse, DSI deputy director-general Phayao Thongsen said on Tuesday.
The counterfeit goods confiscated by police in the raids had a collective street value around 20 million baht, Pol Lt Col Phayao said.
He said the DSI had been working with intellectual property law firm Satyapon & Partners Ltd to uncover key locations selling counterfeit goods.
A tip-off led the DSI to the Rong Kluea Market and the coin markets in Nakhon Nayok, where 300,000 fake items bearing expensive brand names such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Coach were confiscated.
Counterfeit goods from Rong Kluea were also sold and distributed online, Pol Lt Col Phayao said.
In Bangkok, the DSI discovered more than 60,000 fake brand-name jeans in a warehouse in the Bang Bon area.
A Satyapon & Partners representative said this was the DSI's largest seizure of pirated goods.
The counterfeit goods were smuggled from a neighbouring country, evading the 25% import tax, police said.
Photo: @DSI2002 Facebook page
Pol Lt Col Phayao said the government had stressed the importance of cracking down on counterfeit goods so the country can be removed from the United States Trade Representative watchlist.
Being on the watchlist had resulted in trade benefits with the US being suspended under the Special 301 provision of the Trade Act. This had a negative impact on the economy and the country's image, Pol Lt Col Phayao said.