70,000 counterfeit goods seized in EU joint drive

Brussels, July 8 (IANS) Over 70,000 counterfeit goods were seized during a major joint customs operation, the European Union (EU) said Monday.

The EU operation focused on postal and courier mail traffic, to identify fake products shipped through small consignments, Xinhua reported.

The operation was carried-out by the Greek Customs Administration and the European Anti-Fraud Office, and also involved customs experts from the European Commission, member states, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.

The goods varied in nature from mobile phones, sunglasses and small vehicle spare parts to medicines and pharmaceutical products, which were found to come from the Far East.

Such counterfeit products can "pose a risk" to EU consumers, since they tend not to be produced in line with the relevant health and safety legislation, the statement added.