Customs arrests 12 for selling pirated textbooks

Customs seized 185 suspected pirated textbooks and arrested 12 people during a raid seven second-hand book shops.

 
During the operation, Customs officers found the bookshops involved were selling suspected pirated textbooks that were claimed to be second-hand textbooks. A small quantity of genuine textbooks were mixed with the pirated ones to confuse customers.
 
When customers requested second-hand textbooks, the bookshops would offer the pirated books at a lower price, claiming they were unused second-hand books.
  
Group Head of Intellectual Property Investigation Sandra Tam said the book shops were in Mong Kok, Kwai Chung, Tai Po, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai. The suspected pirated Chinese textbooks for secondary schools seized were valued at about $27,000.
 
Seven men and five women aged between 18 and 45, including five shop owners and seven salespeople, were arrested.