Chinese authorities have targeted a major online sales platform accused of supplying counterfeit goods, raiding warehouses holding millions of packages destined for overseas buyers.
Earlier this month police raided the Hangzhou office and several warehouses of Pandabuy after reported legal action by 16 brands over copyright infringement. More than 200 public security branch officers, 50 private sector investigators and local police were involved, according to reports.
More than 30 people were detained and millions of parcels seized. Hundreds of thousands of fake brand named sport shoes were reportedly among the seized parcels.
The investigation into Pandabuy, first publicised by World Trademark Review, reportedly began last November with the cooperation of City of London police and several intellectual property protection firms including Corsearch, Rouse, and Rouse’s China-based strategic partner Lusheng Law Firm.
The UK involvement is reportedly under the police intellectual property crime unit’s long-running Operation Ashiko, which focuses on online intellectual property crime and counterfeit sales.
“This is the first time that collaboration between brand owners, law enforcement, law firms and service providers across the world has resulted in action against a counterfeit shopping agent of this scale,” Detective Inspector Andrew Masterson told World Trademark Review.
China-based IPP firm Cantoop separately said it had alerted police in November, on behalf of unnamed brand owners, and provided 70 investigators to assist with the probe.
“After six months of diligent work, it was discovered that the infringing activities of Pandabuy extended to five cities in China, involving over 2,200 employees, with warehouses spanning 100,000 square metres, equivalent to nearly 20 football stadiums,” Cantoop alleged.
An officer at a Shanghai police economic crime desk the raid had taken place but declined to give the Guardian further details, only saying that “not so many” people had been arrested.
Pandabuy is a shopping agent platform, acting as a conduit between sellers and buyers, providing sales and marketing assistance, and shipping processes. It does not make the items, but has become famous as a source of cheap and allegedly fake designer goods. Influencers and customers regularly post videos of their Pandabuy “hauls” on TikTok, Discord, and other social media platforms.
Pandabuy’s website claims to have 200,000 customers, however a major data leak in March reportedly included details for more than 1.3 million customers. Pandabuy apologised for the leak, which it blamed on criminal hackers, and said people’s financial information was not accessed.
Pandabuy has been contacted for comment. The website’s public alert notices have not been updated since 1 April, but an autogenerated email reply suggests the company is still operating in a limited capacity.
“Recently, our company has encountered legal issues related to our services, as our senior management is actively cooperating with the police investigation,” the reply said.
“Currently, we are fully collaborating with the relevant authorities to ensure that all our business activities comply with legal regulations … In the meantime, our team and the authorities are taking every necessary measure to protect your rights and ensure data security.”
Some customers who say they are awaiting packages have posted online claiming they have been given conflicting messages by customer service about whether shipments ordered prior to the raids will be sent out. Cantoop’s statement suggested authorities expected to spend months inspecting the contents of the raided warehouses.
“All infringing products will be confiscated and stored in warehouses designated by law enforcement agencies,” it said.
UK police told Bloomberg further action was expected against UK assets of Pandabuy, which lists a mail drop business centre address in London as its headquarters.
Chi Hui Lin contributed to this report
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Guardian
