Malta Customs has seized 36 containers, containing hundreds of thousands of counterfeit items, in what is the largest container bust in the history of the department.

In an attempt to deceive customs officials, the first 20 feet of the 45-foot containers were filled with legitimate goods that served as a coverload for the illegal items behind them. Malta Customs said in a statement.

Despite this, scanning equipment detected the fake goods that included mobile phones, clothes, shoes and game controls.

During the ongoing operation, customs' officials stopped a consignment of 44 containers at the Malta Freeport – 36 of which contained counterfeit items. The containers, that originated from Asia and were destined for African countries, ranged between 40 and 45-foot containers. 

This is the biggest amount of containers stopped by customs at any one time.

Before this bust, the largest number was of 15 containers. The operation is still ongoing and officials are in the process of unloading and cataloguing the items.

So far they unloaded eight containers containing: 91,750 mobile phone accessories, 46,863 clothes, 43,915 sports shoes, 14,365 tracksuits, 7,770 shoes, 750 game controls. 

The operation is being carried out by members from the Containers’ Monitoring Unit, Scanning Unit and the Intellectual Property Rights Unit in collaboration with staff from the Malta Freeport Terminal and the Malta Freeport Cooperation.

Last year the department launched a new scanning facility and scanning vehicle at the Malta Freeport to allow for a faster flow of containers through the Customs areas.

EU data published in September revealed that Malta ranks third in the EU for the number of fake items seized at customs after a massive 2.4 million counterfeit articles were confiscated last year.

Gas cylinder seals, car badges, sportswear, bags and shoes were among the items destined for the local market. Other seizures included cigarettes, shoes, clothes, and even vanity cases caught in transit to other countries.