Police in China have broken up a huge counterfeit ring responsible
for the production of millions of fake branded condoms including
variations of Durex, Contex and Jissbon.
According to reports, underground workshops were found to be
operating in central and eastern China and police in Jinjiang, in the
Fujian province, are believed to have seized more than 4.6 million
fully-packaged fake contraceptives that have a combined worth of around
47.7 million Yuan (£5.1 million). In addition, 1,100 pounds of
unpackaged condoms were also found.
The game was up for the counterfeiters in
February when a police officer in the Fujian province realised that a
store on Taobao.com, China’s biggest online shopping website, were
selling suspiciously low-priced condoms considering they were apparently
‘branded’ contraceptives. After purchasing some from the store, tests
were conducted on the condoms and unsurprisingly they were found to be
counterfeits. The phony condoms being offered on the online store were
then tracked to a number of illegal workshops.
Information released by Chinese police officers last week confirmed
that 37 suspects from Fujian, Zhejiang and Henan provinces were
apprehended following police raids on the workshops that occurred on 29
March.
During one of the raids; a workshop in the countryside of southeast
China’s Fujian province, police discovered dozens of workers in a poorly
lit room. The workers were busy on a production line applying
lubrication to the condoms. The dangerous fake contraceptives were
stacked up high ready to be shipped off to the unsuspecting public, and
police commented that the cheap oil lubricants used on the condoms left a
disgusting odour in the room.
It has emerged that one of the two main figures behind the
counterfeit ring is a man surnamed Liu. Allegedly, he began his
operation in December of last year, purchasing raw latex from a factory
in Hebei – the surrounding providence of the capital, Beijing. Cheap
lubricants were then applied and the phony condoms were packed up in
bags and boxes that bore the names of well-known brands. According to
police, Liu’s workers were producing up to an incredible 20,000 fake
condoms each day; each costing 0.17 Yuan (£0.02) to produce and then
sold on for 1 Yuan (£0.11).
After interrogation, Liu admitted to police that the condoms produced
in his workshops were mainly sold on the internet, and through small
vendors, pharmacies, supermarkets and rural sex toy stores.
This comes just a month after Ghana was hit with a ‘major public
health issue’ after one million condoms provided to the country’s health
service were shockingly discovered to have holes in them and were
susceptible to bursting easily. The condoms were from the branded ‘Be
Safe’ line, all imported from China.
“When we tested those condoms, we found that they are poor quality,
can burst in the course of sexual activity, and have holes which expose
the users to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease,”
Thomas Amedzra, head of drug enforcement at the Ghanaian Food and Drug
Authority, commented to the Guardian newspaper.
It seems that Chinese police are upping the ante however in their
quest to beat the counterfeiters. Just last week, £21 million of
counterfeit designer goods were set alight and destroyed in an
extravagant public event which they surely hope will show the world they
are cracking down on the illegal trade. Everything from counterfeit
cigarettes, handbags, cosmetics and even wine, were all thrown onto a
fire in Guiyang, southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
Male and female contraception should only be purchased from a highly
reputable source such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy. Every medication
or product dispatched to our patients is 100% genuine and their health
is at the core of our business practice. We have a wide range of both
Durex and Skins condoms at great prices from our chemist shop. However, if you suspect you may have used a low-quality fake condom, we offer a Clamelle chlamydia test kit
for just £24.85 which can be used in the privacy of your own home to
prevent an embarrassing visit to your GP. Or, if you have been diagnosed
as having chlamydia or gonorrhoea, the antibiotic Azithromycin
can prevent the spread of the bacteria so that your body’s natural
defences can fight back and remove the infection from your system.
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