toms has handed over 77,850 counterfeit Smirnoff vodka bottles to brand owner, Diageo. The authorities first discovered the shipment in June 2013 and have only now released them to be destroyed. The fake vodka bottles were being held by Singapore Customs after officers inspected containers which were labelled “general cargoes”. There were 11 20-foot containers that were seized containing Smirnoff bottles, 18 boxes of bottle caps and counterfeit labels.
The shipment originated from a neighbouring South East Asian country and was intended to be shipped out of Singapore, most likely for illegal bottling and sale of counterfeit vodka.
Diageo applied to the Singapore courts for the counterfeit bottles to be detained and handed over for destruction.
The bottles were handed over to a Diageo representative on December 26, 2013. The original shipment was detained on the grounds of being in violation of the Trades Mark Act.
The UK in recent years has seen increased instances of counterfeit vodka and other white spirits, particularly among off-licence businesses and night clubs. Counterfeit alcohol is now one of the most investigated counterfeit goods in the UK and is of particluar concern to the authorities as they can be potentially harmful and even lethal due to the substances being used that have included chloroform and high levels of methanol.
Last month, the Trading Standard Institute issued a warning to businesses and consumers to be wary of fake, lower priced alcohols being sold at car-boot sales particularly during the holiday period.
