The customs department on Friday announced it had seized more than 3,000 counterfeit products, including football shirts and other items, from three shops in Ayia Napa.
The other items included bags, belts, mobile phone cases, perfumes and underwear, and bore the names of well-known brands including Adidas, Puma, Nike and Ralph Lauren.
The shops’ owners admitted to their crimes and were fined a total of €4,280 between them, while also being charged €320 in total for the items’ destruction.
The customs department implored the public to “be particularly careful when purchasing products”, as there are “thousands of products on the market which are not authentic”.
It added that counterfeit products “do not meet the specifications of the products in relation to the brand they are copying”.
Such products are “produced through unethical processes and the forced labour of young children” and “dangerous or harmful to human health and safety with some of them even causing death,” it added.
In addition, they said, “revenues from the counterfeit trade are in most cases used to finance organised crime and terrorism.”
