The provincial police investigation agency named Bui Bich Thuan, 40, as the accused on July 17 for infringing industrial property rights, according to the provincial Economic Police Division.
Officers caught Thuan on May 30 selling watches branded Rolex, Hublot and Patek Philippe to a customer in the lobby of the S2 tower at the Sapphire apartment complex in Hong Gai Ward. The 18 she was offering carried no invoices or paperwork proving their origin.
A search of an apartment in the same building, which she used for storage, turned up 78 more watches. Altogether police impounded 96 watches carrying brands including Bvlgari, Richard Mille and Gucci.
The Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute assessed 87 of them, across 18 brands, as counterfeit, with a combined value of VND310.58 million (US$11,800).
Counterfeit watches bearing well-known global brands seized by authorities in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of the police
