In early November, authorities in South African Customs officials seized a large amount of fake Lacoste shoes. Here’s their statement on the issue:

SARS Customs officials intercepted suspected counterfeit clothing and shoes valued at approximately R10 722 364 in the Western Cape over the weekend. The incident happened during a special high-visibility operation at Rawsonville Weighbridge off the N1 – 20 km south of Worcester on Saturday. The operation saw traffic and Customs officials redirecting all trucks carrying goods from the N1 to the Weighbridge, in order to detect possible illicit goods and collect all revenue due. Customs officials decided to search a truck carrying two vessel containers, one 20ft, the other 40ft, en route to Johannesburg from Cape Town. After opening the 20ft container, officers discovered what seemed to be second-hand truck tyres and rims. They then opened the 40ft container where they found heavy machinery, heavy boxes of unbranded goods, rubber sheets etc. However, further inspections revealed boxes containing branded clothing and footwear hidden at the back of the container. There were a total of 86 boxes containing the following brands and quantities:

* 1500 pairs Lacoste Takkies

* 2200 pairs Nike Takkies

* 1936 Adidas T-shirts

* 96 pairs John Foster shoes

The goods were confiscated and detained for further investigation.

Editor’s Note: As always, the counterfeit Lacoste keeps coming, so before you buy make sure you check out my articles on detecting fake Lacoste shoes, detecting fake Lacoste shirts and detecting fake Lacoste bags, or my detailed discussion of how to authenticate Lacoste.