Mumbai: A preliminary investigation by the EOW's CB Control unit into the counterfeit wristwatch racket busted on Wednesday has revealed that hundreds of expertly made copies of designer watches are illegally snuggled into India from China on a regular basis.
In six simultaneous raids conducted at six shops in the Manish Market and Al Saba Market on Wednesday, the CB Control unit had seized realistic forgeries of designer wristwatches worth a total of Rs 1.06 crore. The police had arrested five accused and charged them under the Copyright and Trademark Act.
According to EOW officials, inquiries conducted so far indicate that the seized watches were only one part of a massive quantity of fake watches that are smuggled into India from China on a regular basis.
“The information we have obtained so far indicates that hundreds of such watches are made in China and sent to India by sea. These watches are concealed in large consignments of legitimate cargo, and after they land at Indian docks, the watches are discreetly removed while the rest of the cargo is sent to its intended destination. Through circuitous routes and many layers of agents and middlemen, these watches find their way to large markets with scores of small and medium shops,” an officer who is part of the investigation said.
The officer added that the profits in this racket are huge, as each watch costs the dealers not more than Rs 400 to Rs 500 but is sold for anything between Rs 3000 to Rs 10,000 or even more.
“The dealers quote the price after gauging the spending capacity of their customers. The five accused held on Wednesday had even set up social media pages offering designer watches at throwaway rates, supposedly as part of special sales. We have examined the watches and they are almost like the genuine ones, with only the manufacturers or experts in the field being able to tell the difference,” the officer said.
In Wednesday's raids, the police seized a total of 2082 watches bearing names of world famous brands like Fossil, Diesel, Michael Kors and Giorgio Armani. The five accused, identified as Pravin Patel, Shravan Purohit, Abdul Sheikh, Junaid Sheikh and Shahid Ansari, have been handed over to the MRA Marg police for further investigation, officers said.
