Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Police confiscated 27 kilogram of counterfeit gold jewellery in the local market here involving 26 gold jewellery showrooms.
The jewelleries were inscribed with the fake international trademarks, the police said on Tuesday.
All the 26 jewellery showrooms were involved in the commercial fraud, including 11 outlets owned by one person, said police.
The police did not reveal the name of the outlets involved.
Brigadier General Dr Rashid Mohammed Borasheed, Director of Criminal Investigation Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police, said: “We have confiscated these gold jewelleries during a field inspection campaign."
"Some jewellery outlets had hidden gold in secret closets and behind wooden shelves, and were promoting goods with fake trademarks of reputed international brands," he added.
Gold traders aware of the seizure and said that most of the confiscated jewellery items were lablled as 18-carat gold weighing 27kg, with a current market value of Dh4.3 million.
Gold Traders
Local traders in Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, told Gulf News that the practice of laser inscribing on bracelets and bangles has been going on for many years in the market and traders were flouting commercial rules of the country.
Tushar Patni, owner of Ajanta Jewellers on Hamdan street in Abu Dhabi, said, “If you buy a genuine Cartier bracelet from its showroom, it would cost you about Dh45,000, but if you buy a similar copy of it with names inscribed inside, it would cost around Dh11,500.”
All these big branded items like Bvlgari, Cartier, Gucci and Montblanc have their jewellery range but unfortunately, some people make it in their shops, he said.
Laser Inscriptions
In general, gold traders use laser inscriptions to fake trademarks of international repute.
“Such duplicators generally use laser inscriptions, called “CNC machines”, which can copy the same artistic design from the original,” Patni said.
Mostly outlets don’t keep original brands and deals with fake inscripted jewelleries — and they also tell the consumers who are made aware of such inscriptions because of low cost as compared to genuine ones, he said.
But as per trade rules of the country, it’s not permitted to duplicate international reputed brands on local jewelleries.
It’s “Statement Jewellery” — the outlets are not supposed to trade it."
In fact, gold traders were warned by the police about four months before the raids to remove these fake items otherwise a fine of Dh50,000 will be levied on them, he said.
Patni said: “This practice has been going on in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for a long long time.”
Complaint
However, the police received a complaint from a reputed international commercial agent who revealed commercial fraud in the gold market.
The police formed a team and, following legal procedures, raided the offending outlets in the capital.
The owners would seek to imitate trademarks because they believed they would earn large amounts of money illegally and remain out of the reach of authorities, the police said.
The case, along with the confiscated items, were referred to the Public Prosecution for further legal action.
The police urged consumers to beware when dealing with international brands in the jewellery industry. Authorities also urged consumers to report any suspicion of commercial fraud in the industry.
