Police raid toner counterfeiting workshop after months of investigation.
A counterfeiting workshop in Offenback, Obertshausen that held “several tens of thousands of printer cartridges”
disguised as OEM products was raided by police after investigations into an increase in fake printer cartridges appearing on the market since the beginning of the year, reports German website PBS Business.
The workshop saw empty printer cartridges being filled with “inferior colour” and packaged in boxes deceptively similar to that of OEM cartridges along with “holograms, warranty seals and accompanying documents”. They were then passed on through various distribution channels in the cartridge trade, with many being recorded to have reached “large markets, but also banks, insurance and communication to the public institutions”, explained Henry Faltin, a member of staff from the police headquarters south-east of Hesse.
Kerpen Werner, Head Fraud Commissioner at Offenbach spoke of his surprise at finding extensive counterfeiting of toner cartridges in Germany, as “according to our previous findings so far, such forgeries were made mostly in the Far East,” and labelled the discovery “a new dimension.” He also added that there would be “several truckloads of confiscated cartridges” being brought back from the raided counterfeiting workshop.
After growing suspicion around the company earlier in the year, a search warrant was requested, with police officers searching the apartment of the company’s managing director. However, the manager was “initially set free again after the police action”. Meanwhile, the investigation continues.