Industry news

Nowhere to hide for illegal importers

In a busy harbour like Durban, not all the 100 000-odd containers entering or leaving the premises per month can be scanned and the unit therefore randomly select containers to scan, explains Capt. Zondi of the Durban Harbour SAPS anti-smuggling cargo-control unit.

But, certain importers and exporters are profiled and receive special attention – it could be because they had been caught with importing or exporting illegal goods before, or because the anti-smuggling unit had received information about suspicious cargo.

“Because we know that a number of illegal goods are smuggled through a busy harbour like Durban, we work closely with Interpol,” he says.

There are several factors that would alert members of the unit that there might be a problem with the cargo, explains Capt. Zondi. “We would check the commodity being imported to see if it looks consistent,” he says. “The way a container is packed could, for example, alert us that all is not well with the cargo. When it looks suspicious, we would do what we call “tailboarding” – stop and open the container and extract the goods. We then send it to the patent attorneys who give it to experts to verify and then alert the commercial branch if further action is needed.”

Suspicion about the fact that a consignment of balls were packed between furniture and TV’s in a container from China, for example, recently alerted the Durban harbour unit to what turned out to be a consignment of 500 fake Mikasa volleyball balls valued at R233 000 (trade price incl VAT).

Upon scrutiny, the anti-smuggling unit found that these balls were stamped with Mikasa on one side, and the name of the importer, Charmers, on the other side. This was clearly not above board and the process was set in motion.

“One could see straight off that they were cheap and nasty copies of our top-of-the-range volleyball ball that was launched at the Beijing Olympics,” says Nick Wiltshire of the licensed Mikasa importer, Pat Wiltshire Sports, who immediately drove from Johannesburg to Durban to verify that the balls were illegal as soon as they were notified.

The Mikasa panels are not conventional and are therefore very difficult to manufacture, Wiltshire explains. “This was a shocking attempt at copying, and they had the audacity to put their own name, as well as the Mikasa name, on the ball. The packaging was also very bad quality.”

According to the importer, Ebrahim Timol of Charmers Sportswear, this was no attempt to import Mikasa copies – he says that he was, in fact, himself a victim of the Chinese manufacturer who added the Mikasa name to some of the balls he manufactured without his knowledge. “If I wanted to copy Mikasa balls, I would certainly not have added my own name to the other side of the ball.”

He does, however, agree that the colours of the ball are the same as the Mikasa.

“My agent was supposed to check the consignment before it left China, but the boxes he checked were correct,” says Timol. He unfortunately missed the 500 with the Mikasa name out of the consignment of 10 000 balls I imported.”

The import invoices, however, show that the consignment consisted of only 1 500 balls - 1 000 Charmers soccer balls and 500 volleyball balls carrying the Mikasa and Charmers name.

Apart from a incurring a hefty fine* an importer of illegal goods is also liable for the cost of storing the container while the investigation is ongoing, as well as pay for the costs of the patent attorneys, fees incurred by the legal importer, the cost of destroying the illegal goods, etc. In addition, his container with all the goods imported is locked down and held in storage until the court case had run its course.

The Mikasa-import case was settled out of court, “in the best interest of the brand and our principal,” says Pat Wiltshire. “But, it was a victory for ethics and morals! It is also a victory for our legitimately appointed stockists.”

He is also full of praise for the effectiveness of the SAPS anti-smuggling unit who “often don’t get the credit they deserve.”