Tracking illicit trade
The World Customs Organisation’s (WCO) second edition of the Illicit Trade Report presents data based on customs seizures reported through the WCO Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) database by its members. Among the latest findings:
- for IP rights seizures, both an increase in both the reporting countries and cases was observed (22,543 cases in 2012 and 24,092 cases in 2013); and
- in 2013 more than half of the reported interceptions were illicit pharmaceutical products, followed by counterfeit electronic appliances and illicit foodstuffs – all of which threaten consumer health and safety.
Selected highlights follow:
Figure 1: Top counterfeit brands by number of cases
Figure 2: Top counterfeit brands by reported quantity
| Brand | Quantity (pieces) |
Supermatch |
40, 000, 000 |
Medik-55 |
37, 206, 080 |
Zmc Hamburg Gmbh Germany |
32, 232, 000 |
Cefalex |
20, 718, 770 |
Dr Cold |
20, 718, 770 |
Trama Z |
20, 718, 770 |
Enacure |
20, 718, 770 |
Zentral |
20, 718, 770 |
Dexacot |
20, 656, 669 |
Diabetaz |
20, 656, 665 |
Honda |
15, 033, 671 |
MGM |
12, 519, 000 |
Seven Towns |
12, 484, 800 |
Modern |
10, 270, 000 |
MAC cosmetics |
9, 306, 458 |
Duracell |
8, 636, 779 |
| Total | 322, 595, 972 |
Figure 3: Destination country by number of cases
