The South African National Police Service’s (SAPS) National Counterfeit Unit is continuing to clamp down on the illegal trade of counterfeit goods in the country. The latest major counterfeit goods bust was in Gauteng.

On Friday, the police’s National Counterfeit Unit led an integrated takedown operation in Johannesburg’s CBD. The operation resulted in the seizure of counterfeit goods worth over R9 million.

“The South African Police Service (SAPS) remains relentless in its efforts to uproot the illicit trade in counterfeit goods, as it has a detrimental impact on the economic growth of the country.”

Over 11,000 counterfeit items such as clothing apparel, shoes, watches, handbags and sunglasses were seized during the operation. This is the unit’s third takedown operation in Gauteng in the last four weeks.

At the same time, SAPS’s counterfeit unit seized over R8 million worth of fake goods in Rustenburg, North West earlier this month.

In total, the unit has removed R30 million worth of counterfeit items from stores across the country in the last month.

The unit is known for regularly conducting major operations across South Africa, with the targetted Western Cape hotspot being a shopping complex near the Bellville taxi rank.

The last bust conducted in the area was conducted on the 25th of January where goods worth over R5 million were seized. According to police, the items seized included fake Home Affairs documents such as birth, asylum, death and refugee certificates. In addition, fake vehicle licences and affidavits were also seized.

At the time, Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape police, Lt Gen (Adv) TE Patekile issued a warning to building owners and landlords who are well aware of the illegal activities on their premises that they are also in the sights of SAPS.

The South African Police Service’s National Counterfeit Goods Unit was established in November 2023. The unit, made up of SAPS members from various specialized units, is aimed at taking down establishments where fake items are sold. While the sale of such items is illegal, SAPS is also of the view that it is detrimental to the country’s economic growth.

READ MORE: Counterfeit goods worth millions seized in Bellville