Fake car parts worth Dh15m seized in Al Ain

Abu Dhabi - The person, who was caught for first time, ran a 'small showroom'

In the largest-ever seizure of fake car spare parts in the Capital, products worth Dh15 million were recovered from 'one of the biggest warehouses' in Al Ain City.
The officials of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) in coordination with inspectors and local dealers raided the shop on Thursday to recover more than 500,000 fake spare parts, which were then loaded onto 21 trucks. The person, who was caught for first time, ran a 'small showroom' in Al Ain.
The officials said the culprit's businesses have been shut and fine will depend on the findings whether he sold the products to consumers, dealers or companies. The spare parts covered all kind of car brands.
ADDED chairman Ali Majed Al Mansouri said during a Press conference on Tuesday that such commercial fraud affected the economy of the country and such raids would be intensified.
He said it is the responsibility of all stakeholders, including government bodies, private companies and consumers, who needed to be enlightened about genuine and fake products.
ADDED acting undersecretary Khalifa Bin Salem Al Mansouri said the department got a team of inspectors and trainers, who enjoy the powers of judicial officers and visits malls and markets to check violations.
He lauded the efforts put by ADDED's government and private sector partners who supported such raids.
Mohamed Munif Al Mansouri, acting executive director of the ADDED's Abu Dhabi Business Centre, said the seizure was made from one of the biggest warehouses in Al Ain and happened after extensive investigation by the department's inspectors in coordination with other dealers.
Munif Al Mansouri urged consumers to be vigilant while buying spare parts and to report cases where fake ones were sold. "They can call toll free number 800555 and report such cases," he added.
Ahmed Taresh Al Qubaisi, ADDED's commercial protection division director, said consumers shouldn't go after cost effective spare parts but buy from genuine dealers who will give guarantee too.
"This is the prime reason that affects the safety of a person. Imagine having faulty brakes and lights in a car. This will lead to accidents."
He said people get involved in fraudulent activities to make 'fast income and profit'.
On the legal actions, Al Qubaisi said: "We have shut his business and collected all items to be destructed. There will also be a fine depending on the findings."
The tip, he said, was from 'our police and inspectors'. "Also the local dealers, who wanted to save their business, gave us information. We are here to save investors and consumers."
"This might be his first and definitely last shipment," he said about the culprit.
ADDED's Al Ain commercial protection representative said it took them close to '15-20 hours' to load all the fake products. "We started from early morning and continued till night," he said. "We managed to send it to our store by midnight. It took us 21 three-ton trucks to load all the products that cover all the spare parts of a car," he said.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com