Face masks from Uganda found to be fakes

Shanghai Customs has dealt with a case of counterfeit 3M masks, the first of its kind at a customs import channel in China, it said on Friday.

Its officers found 8,000 N95 masks under the brand 3M which were imported by a Dongguan-based company from Uganda that were suspected of trademark infringement.

The masks were confirmed as fake by 3M and it applied to customs for intellectual property protection.

Shanghai Customs launched a new intellectual property protection campaign on February 15 by order of the General Administration of Customs and it will last to the end of the year.

Similar campaigns over the past four years have resulted in the seizure of more than 3.5 million of goods worth nearly 26 million yuan (US$3.7 million).