Counterfeit good seizures still rising in Europe

The volume of counterfeit goods seized by European Union (EU) customs teams has continued to rise, with the latest figures from the European Commission showing that the number of seizures in 2008 increased 13% from 2007 – up to 49,381 cases. There was a corresponding increase in the number of articles detained, to 179 million, spanning cigarettes, clothes and cosmetics to medicines, food and drink products. The number of fake CDs, DVDs and cassettes seized rose by an enormous 2,300% to 79 million. There was also a 26% increase in seizures of food and drink counterfeits and a 14% decline in uncovered jewellery fakes.