Customs officials working at the Malta Freeport have intercepted more than €17 million in contraband and counterfeit goods this year so far, the government department said on Tuesday. 

Forty-nine 40-foot containers stuffed with counterfeit goods were intercepted using scanners at the Freeport between January and August. The containers were destined for third countries and were stopped as they were in transit in Malta. Customs officials have so far catalogued the contents of 23 of the 49 containers. 

Inside they found: 
 
o 159,779 pairs of sports shoes;
o 6,910 pairs of shoes;
o 46,032 deodorants;
o 25,783 dresses and suits;
o 9,750 pairs of underwear;
o 16,500 caps;
o 1,828 handbags;
o 1,796 pieces of audio equipment.
 
In all, those items have been valued at a total of €17.3 million. 

The other 26 containers which have yet to be catalogued will be assessed in the coming weeks, Customs said. 

Apart from those cases of containers in transit, Customs also got wind of 74 cases of attempts to import fake products into the local market. In most cases, items were shipped using the standard postal service or courier shipping services. 

Products included: 
 
o 1,200 face masks;
o 204 suits or dresses;
o 17 handbags;
o 7 pairs of shoes;
o 1 mobile phone;
o 1 watch;
o Watch accessories
o Car accessories

Customs initiated legal proceedings in all those cases.