Perth Royal Show: Hundreds of counterfeit toys seized at Perth Airport, allegedly intended for show bags

A mountain of suspected counterfeit toys — allegedly intended to be sold at the Royal Show — have been seized at Perth International Airport. The Australian Border Force seized more than 1,400 toys after officers stopped a passenger who declared they were carrying commercial goods. After a bag search, officers discovered pencil cases, key rings, hair clips and other items which appeared to breach intellectual property rights, and were intended to be taken to the Perth showgrounds and sold in show bags. ABF Superintendent Vesna Gavranich said that there is a perception that counterfeit goods only means knock-off luxury items such as handbags and shoes. “Counterfeit goods impact every industry, and so this is a great detection by our officers and a timely reminder to the community,” Superintendent Gavranich said. She stressed that the harms of the fake items stretched much wider than just a potential loss of profit. “There are serious health, safety and environmental concerns over fake versions of products including children’s toys, cosmetics, batteries, even safety equipment like airbags. “These items were intended for the Royal Show and likely not safe for children to the degree expected by the community. “When making purchase choices remember that ‘if it looks too good to be true, it usually is’. The risk to your health is not worth the few dollars you might save.”The ABF is holding onto the items as they investigate the legitimacy of the products, in consultation with the intellectual property rights holders. Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia CEO Robyn Sermon has reminded exhibitors that they must have appropriate licences for certain goods. “The Royal Agricultural Society works with the licence holders of various products, to inspect and make sure no one is in breach of counterfeit licence conditions,” she said. “It’s a condition of being an exhibitor that you have appropriate licences, and we inspect goods on-site.”In the 2023 financial year, the ABF seized more than 112,000 individual items with an estimated value of almost $40 million. Counterfeit goods may be identified and intercepted as a result of profiling and specific information received. The ABF is often notified of counterfeit goods from information from members of the public, industry partners or overseas intelligence information. People in the community can report suspicious border-related activity at any time through Border Watch. Reports can be made anonymously at www.borderwatch.gov.au.