Intellectual Property Department Sweeps Counterfeit Goods Across Four Southern Provinces and Samut Prakan, Seizes Over 700,000 Items Worth 50 Million Baht in Damages
Thai authorities seized over 709,000 counterfeit items worth 50 million baht across four southern provinces and Samut Prakan in April 2025, with fake cosmetics posing particular health risks to consumers.
The Ministry of Commerce's Department of Intellectual Property, in coordination with economic crime police and private rights holders, continues its aggressive campaign against counterfeit goods. In April 2025, authorities in Bangkok, surrounding areas, and other provinces made significant seizures of counterfeit products, particularly fake cosmetics.
Department Director Ormon Saoptavirattham emphasized that intellectual property infringement threatens economic security and directly harms manufacturers, business operators, and consumers while eroding the nation's competitiveness. The government and Commerce Ministry are committed to addressing this issue seriously through stricter inspections, rigorous law enforcement, and integrated cooperation among all sectors to prevent counterfeit goods from entering the market and to apprehend major offenders.
The department is also working to strengthen intellectual property protection standards to enhance Thailand's credibility in global trade and improve the nation's intellectual property protection status internationally.
During April 2025, enforcement teams conducted coordinated raids in major commercial and tourism areas across four southern provinces: Prachuap Khiri Khan, Surat Thani, Krabi, and Phuket. Officers seized counterfeit trademark products including bags, pants, shirts, eyeglasses, belts, bracelets, shoes, and hats.
Searches were also conducted at storage facilities in Samut Prakan following reports of online sales of counterfeit cosmetics. The raids uncovered large quantities of counterfeit cosmetics bearing fake brand trademarks.
April 2025 statistics show 709,786 items seized across 29 cases with an estimated economic loss of over 50 million baht. Officers arrested suspects and forwarded cases to investigators for prosecution.
Director Ormon noted that the enforcement operation successfully prevented illegal products from reaching consumers, protecting them from substandard counterfeit goods that may pose health risks—especially cosmetics. She warned that counterfeit cosmetics now feature increasingly sophisticated fake packaging nearly identical to genuine products, including counterfeit Thai labels and product registration numbers, which can easily mislead consumers.
The department urges the public to exercise caution when purchasing goods, especially online. Consumers should buy from authorized retailers or trusted sources, verify packaging for proper standards and integrity, and ensure prices are reasonable. Those with information about counterfeit goods sales can report through the IP Thailand website (www.ipthailand.go.th) under "Report Intellectual Property Infringement" or call the hotline 1368.
