Columbia Sportswear Company said authorities in Thailand have confiscated more than 4,700 counterfeit Columbia products from four retail outlets and two related warehouses.
Starting with a tip from Columbia's Thai distributor, the raids followed several weeks of surveillance by private investigators hired by Columbia with cooperation from several local and regional Thai law enforcement agencies. According to reports, the investigators hid a GPS transmitter on a delivery truck filled with the imitation products and tracked the truck to Cambodia.
Teng Sok Chheng, one of the alleged leaders of the counterfeiting and smuggling operation, was located and arrested near the Cambodian border and a warrant has been issued for the arrest of the owner of a chain of retail stores and warehouses that were used to distribute and market the counterfeit goods.
The raids and resulting arrests are the largest counterfeit bust to-date in Columbia's recently heightened campaign to reduce counterfeiting of its products and intellectual property.
