Drugs, masks ... Seizures of counterfeits jumped 20% last year

The Minister of Public Accounts Olivier Dussopt announced Monday, from Roissy airport, the launch of a plan to fight against counterfeits after a jump in customs seizures in 2020, in particular masks and medicines.

Despite the health crisis and the slowdown in flows, customs seized 5.6 million counterfeit items last year, 20% more than in 2019.

In addition to the usual luxury items, games, stamps and perfumes, customs have noted an increase in drug seizures (128,000 lots), ranging from "

miracle cure

" against Covid to traditional pills against erectile dysfunction.

Read also: Counterfeiting: a parliamentary report calls for a national strategy and judicial strengthening

Indirect effect of the lockdown and closure of barber shops: Customs have also seized more hair clippers imitating expensive brands.

"

Fraudsters are in perpetual search for new opportunities, we have seen from the month of April with the proliferation of counterfeit masks and the total seizure since then of 227,000 masks

", declared Olivier Dussopt, Minister Delegate in charge of public accounts, alerting on the “

economic, security and health

”

risks

of these parallel markets.

The last few years have been marked by a sharp increase in counterfeits detected among small e-commerce parcels, which arrive in France by air, mainly from Asia.

Strengthening of the mission of “

cyber customs officers

”

The announced fight plan, which will involve enhanced cooperation with online sales platforms, aims to "

streamline relations with e-commerce players to identify and dismantle traffic

".

It also provides for the strengthening of the mission of the "

cyber customs

officers" responsible for patrolling websites and social networks.

Brands are also invited to step up their requests for intervention with customs, when they notice the sale of imitation products.

"

As long as the platforms are not forced to fight against counterfeiting, they will not do so fully, as this represents an extremely important business for them, which they promote to the detriment of the health and safety of consumers.

», Reacted to AFP, Delphine Sarfati-Sobreira, general manager of UNIFAB, the Union of Manufacturers.