In an 11-hour operation conducted on 20 April 2010, Police arrested four men aged between 18 to 30 years for their involvement in a counterfeit syndicate which imported and distributed counterfeit electronic goods.

On 20 April 2010, officers from the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department mounted a raid at a shop located at Blk 47 Tanglin Halt, and seized a total of 15,129 items of counterfeit electronic goods with an estimated street value of $3.7 million dollars. This is the largest amount of seizure for such counterfeit electronic goods within the last 3 years. The items seized were mainly mobile phones purportedly modelled after well-known brands. Preliminary investigations indicated that the counterfeit electronic goods were supplied from overseas.

Assistant Director of the Specialised Crime Division, Criminal Investigation Department, Superintendent of Police Goh Lam Kiong, commended his officers for their excellent work in eradicating the syndicate and said, “ Police take a serious view of syndicated piracy and will clamp down hard on syndicates involved in the sale of counterfeit products. Police will continue to take strict enforcement action against these pirates who profit at the expense of legitimate business and consumers."

Investigations against those arrested are on-going.

Any persons in possession of infringing goods for the purposes of trade or manufacture in which a registered trade mark is falsely applied may be fined up to $10,000 per article - up to a maximum $100,000 for all items, or imprisoned for up to 5 years or both.