Dubai authorities have seized more than three million counterfeit versions of over 30 brands in raids on four warehouses, state-owned Emirates news agency WAM has reported.

The products included phone accessories, handbags, clothes, leather goods, ink, printers, cosmetics, watches and contact lenses, the news agency said.

Ibrahim Bahzad, director of intellectual property rights protection at economic development government department Dubai Economy told the news agency that the team took 14 days to investigate and act after receiving information on the counterfeits. The raids "reaffirm the role of the intellectual property rights protection team in safeguarding trademarks against any infringement", he said.

"Dubai Economy is committed to translating the directives and vision of the government of Dubai to promote economic activity. Combatting commercial fraud and protecting goods and services against duplicating their brand or logo are part of the strategic objective of Dubai Economy to improve confidence among businesses and investors and enhance overall competitiveness in Dubai," Behzad said.

The raid took more than 48 hours as the officials screened and sorted out each product to ensure transparency and impartiality in the process, he told WAM.

"People promoting and selling counterfeits use innovative tricks. Some of them import the goods in pieces and then assemble it here, and they even use remote or misleading locations to stock such goods. We work closely with global brands to train our inspectors in identifying counterfeits and we update trademark owners on local developments in combatting counterfeiting," Behzad said.

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