<p> It’s another page out of a produce noir crime. Hong Kong customs officers have seized <B>5,200 oranges</b> from two Yuen Long stalls with <B>allegedly fake Sunkist labels</b> after complaints that they were sourer and had thicker skins than usual. The owner of the two stalls and three sales staff aged 19 to 62 were ultimately <B>arrested</b> and could spend up to five years in jail with a HK$500,000 fine, according to South China Morning Post.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Following the complaints, customs officers launched a two week investigation whereupon Lam Yau-tak, commander of the Customs and Excise Department’s intellectual property general investigation division, discovered that the oranges had one tell-tale sign that they were counterfeits – <B>paper labels</b>. Elementary, Sherlock Holmes might say.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/sunkist042514body.jpg" alt="cropped_Image_042414" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><div>Photo courtesy of South China Morning Post</div><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p> The genuine and counterfeit oranges look similar except for their label stickers – the real ones are made of plastic while the fakes are printed on paper, said Yau-tak. Officers seized a total of <B>112,000 forged labels</b>, some not yet stuck on the fruit. During the investigation, officers actually found the staff secretly sticking the forged labels on the fruit, while customers were forbidden from picking up the fruit to ensure <B>they wouldn’t spot the fakes</b>.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> South China Morning Post reports that genuine Sunkist oranges, usually imported from South Africa and California, cost HK$3 to HK$4 each and are sold to customers at HK$5 to HK$6. Meanwhile, the counterfeits cost HK$1 and were sold at HK$3 to HK$4 each. The total market value of the 5,200 seized oranges totaled <B>HK$90,000</b>.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Other stalls in the market were checked and <B>no further fakes were found</b>. A syndicate was not yet found either, but investigations are currently ongoing.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we keep an eye on any other seedy, mysterious deals in the produce underworld. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
