Counterfeiters are salivating at the prospect of selling their wares to this year’s biggest captive audience. Thankfully, law enforcement is there in force to make sure the Olympic brand is not tainted by the fraudsters. Already, arrests and seizures have been made.

Many counterfeit Olympic products, including T-shirts, mascots and cigarettes, are sold on the streets of Beijing and other Chinese cities. The fraudsters have also gone online, with the police closing down at least one fake ticketing website. Here are more instances of fraudulent Olympic paraphernalia and their sellers/users who were caught red-handed by police.

Counterfeit 'Beijing 2008' T-shirts seized by Beijing Customs
They arrived in a parcel, which ostensibly held documents, in Beijing – express mailed from the United States. But alert officials from Beijing Customs noticed that the parcel was much heavier than ordinary documents of similar size. Small wonder because the package held, not documents, but T-shirts bearing "Beijing 2008" and logos of the Beijing Olympic Games. The garments were later determined to be counterfeited products made without the approval from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games (BOCOG) of the XXIX Olympiad.

Fake Fuwa mold discovered by Guangzhou Customs

Customs officials at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport were puzzled when a passenger flew into Guangzhou from Vietnam with very little luggage and an unfilled customs declaration form. Upon investigation, the officials found a mold of Fuwa, the five mascots of the Beijing Olympic Games, in his luggage. After consulting with the BOCOG, the authorities determined that the mold did infringe the IP rights of the Olympic Games. With this information, local industrial and commercial institutions were able to seize a factory in Zhongshan making fake Fuwa.

Two people detained for possessing counterfeit Olympic cigarettes

According to the official Xinhua news agency, police have detained two people after finding them with thousands of counterfeit cigarette packs bearing the official Beijing 2008 logo. Discovered during a chance safety inspection of coal-fired boilers in central Beijing, the high quality fakes were found among some 25,000 packets of counterfeit tobacco stored at a rented house in the area. Most of the counterfeit cigarette packs – printed with famous Chinese cigarette brands combined with the Olympic logo – were hidden in boxes intended for instant noodles or specialty foods. According to police inspector Liu Yang, “The counterfeit cigarettes were so well forged that ordinary customers would hardly be able to tell them apart from genuine ones.”

Chinese arrest man for selling counterfeit 2008 Olympic coins

The earliest reported violation of the Beijing Olympics’ IP rights involved a man arrested in a market in the Haidian district of the city and accused of selling fake 2008 Olympic mascots and coins. The coins, described as having the Olympic logo and "manufactured in a rough way", had not been made by the Chinese Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, the sole authorized manufacturer. Police found more than 20 kinds of commemorative coins on the market stall of the accused, who claimed he was the first to be arrested for selling fake 2008 Olympic goods.

Beijing 2008 is China’s moment to shine and, with the world’s eyes on it, the country is sparing no effort to prove to the world that it’s taking counterfeiting seriously – especially in a venue where counterfeiters are expected to thrive.