Dubai: Man arrested with 17 types of fake watches, fined Dh10,000

An Asian man was arrested after a raid on his apartment in which he had 17 types of fake watches.

The man was nabbed with counterfeit watches of several international brands, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega and Hublot among others.

He has been convicted and fined Dh10,000. The watches have also been confiscated.

According to police records, the Anti-Economic Crimes Department received a complaint regarding the man who reportedly was preparing to sell off the counterfeit watches.

The legal office for the brands stated that these practices ruin the image of the brands in the country.

After permission was received from the office of Public Prosecutions, the apartment in Deira, Dubai was raided.

A large number of counterfeit products were found from about 17 brands. The finest Swiss watches and jewellery was found along with 64 Rolex watches, 10 Patek Philippe watches, and Chopard items, among many others.

A statement from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry says that “the seized watches bear the trademarks of companies that are members of the union concerned with protecting their trademarks."

It added that their "their examination shows that they were not manufactured in the companies that own the brands and that the marks written on them were placed badly. Additionally, they are manufactured with poor quality and raw materials, different from the original watches, and do not carry manufacturing data or serial numbers."

It also states that the original products are sold exclusively through authorised agents in the UAE.

During interrogations, the accused admitted that they are “imitated from the original brands,” adding that he obtained them from a market.

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