Ajman: A crime ring manufacturing fake printer cartridges was recently busted in Ajman during a major raid.
In January, local authorities swooped down on a large-scale warehouse complex in Ajman. They seized over 72,000 cartridges for HP printers that were being assembled by a criminal network. This follows a series of successful raids in November and December 2020, which saw HP helping shut down several counterfeiting operations in Egypt, seizing 8,500 illicit items in quick succession.
Removing fakes from market
Vishnu Taimni, vice-president and managing director of Middle East, Turkey, and East Africa at HP, said: “HP is proud of its continued partnership with UAE officials to protect our valued customers from unknowingly purchasing fraudulent products. The successful collaboration with local authorities to seize illicit goods from the UAE market is reflective of the effectiveness of HP’s Anti-Counterfeiting and Fraud [ACF] Programme.”
Through the ACF programme, the company cooperates with local and global law enforcement authorities to detect and dismantle illegal operations that produce counterfeit HP printing components. Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa over the last five years, around 12 million counterfeits and components have been seized by local authorities, supported by HP, the company said.
For users, such illegal imitations can cause “a multitude of problems that can lead to performance and reliability issues”, HP said. For example, should the printer break because of using counterfeit printer ink or toner, the user may have difficulty with the manufacturer’s warranty becoming not applicable.
