Kuwaiti Raid Nets Counterfeit Auto Parts

The Arab Times is reporting that Kuwaiti government agency officials destroyed 25,000 counterfeit spark plugs and that’s just for starters.
According to the newspaper, the Kuwait Ministry of Commerce has destroyed a total of 25,000 counterfeit ACDelco branded spark plugs, oil and air filters worth $100,000, which were seized following collaboration with General Motors (GM) as part of their ongoing fight against counterfeits.
“We thank the Kuwait Ministry of Commerce for their work to eradicate such a serious problem and applaud them for their decisive action to destroy the seized parts,” commented Joe Elenz, aftersales director, General Motors Middle East. “The use of counterfeit auto parts in this region is a serious threat to manufacturers and dealers but more importantly counterfeit parts pose a major risk to the lives of consumers.”
GM’s collaboration with the Kuwait Ministry of Commerce extends to sharing information about counterfeiters operating in the country, allowing the Ministry to investigate and raid the criminal operations.
Last year over 50 such raids took place in Kuwait and there have been 7 raids in the first half of 2005.
On top of this, GM provides training to the Ministry to help officials more easily identify counterfeit auto parts.
“It is estimated that the number of counterfeit parts available in the Middle East now encompasses 20% of the total spare parts market and this has ramifications on local economies as well as putting lives at risk,” added Elenz. “The best protection from counterfeit parts is to buy from GM dealers or authorized distributors of ACDelco Automotive Service and Parts, who provide a range of genuine auto parts for all makes and models of vehicles.” Counterfeit parts are inferior in quality and performance when compared to the genuine articles.