The Macau Customs Service announced in a statement on Wednesday night that its officers nabbed a mainlander for peddling counterfeit Moutai on Monday.
The statement identified the suspect as a 31-year-old male mainlander.
The statement said that on Monday the Customs Service received a report from Public Service Police that a man was seen hawking suspected counterfeit Chinese baijiu (“white liquor”) to passers-by in Taipa.
Customs officers rushed to the scene to intercept the man and seized a Chinese “white liquor” bottle found among his personal belongings. The suspect admitted to trying to sell the bottle for profit.
Customs officers searched his residence where they confiscated four more Chinese “white liquor” bottles suspected of being counterfeits, the statement said.
After appraisal by a brand authentication expert, all the bottles were confirmed to be counterfeit, with an estimated market value of approximately 8,000 patacas based on the price of the genuine products.
A photo of the bottles showed that they claimed to be of China’s world-famous Moutai brand.
While searching the flat where the suspect stayed, the statement said, the customs officers discovered that five other mainlanders were staying there as well. The unit was equipped with 15 bunk beds, and there was strong evidence indicating involvement in the illegal provision of accommodation. The Customs Service passed the case about the suspected “illegal inn” to the Public Security Police (PSP) for follow-up.
In the statement, accordance with the “Legal Regime of Industrial Property” and the “Legal Regime of Offences against Public Health and against the Economy,” the suspect faces up to five years behind bars, or a hefty fine.
This undated handout photo provided by the Macau Customs Service on Wednesday shows the five counterfeit Moutai bottles seized by its officers.
