The Anti-Economic Crime Department arrested a man on Saturday, allegedly involved in producing fake cosmetic products in a warehouse in Por Sen Chey’s Chom Chao II commune.
During the operation, the department, which is under the Interior Ministry, confiscated five tonnes of body whitening cream, toiletries and various types of cosmetic products – all manufactured without proper licences from the authorities.
Chan Vanthoeun, director of the Anti-Economic Crime Department, who spearheaded the raid, said on Sunday that the factory owner, Zou Zhiqang, 44, was sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after his arrest.
“The factory was not registered legally with the relevant ministries. We found equipment and raw materials for producing 22 types of whitening products weighing more than five tonnes.
“We also found shampoos, lotions, perfume, lipsticks, facial cream and raw materials,” added Vanthoeun.
The joint operation was carried out with the assistance of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s deputy prosecutor Srey Makny, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft.
The authorities seized all the products and the factory was shut down, said Vanthoeun.
“After Zou was detained and questioned, he was charged with illegally producing the fake products,” he said.
Mounting crackdown
Vanthoeun said over the last few years, authorities have been striving to combat fake products entering the Cambodian market and have arrested several people involved in such unlawful activities as the products affected consumer health.
On August 18, the National Police’s Counter Counterfeit Committee warned that fake products were harmful. A pharmaceutical company Reksmey Sourkea, located in Sen Sok district, Phnom Penh, was raided for operating without a licence.
In the raid, police seized 23 types of medicines or about 1,329,620 tablets in 500 boxes and 12 kinds of expired medicines.
According to the committee, last year, the authorities exposed 19 cases of counterfeit goods and seized products weighing almost 600 tonnes. Six suspects were held in connection to the cases.
