Gold detection technology and hand-held metal detector devices manu- facturer Minelab reports that its Stop Counterfeits campaign has proven successful.
The company cites an incident which took place in Dubai, where counterfeit Minelab products, with a potential market value of $1.6-million were seized from an apartment complex operating as a makeshift factory.
The raid revealed that counterfeit parts were assembled and packed at the apartment complex before being sold in the open market as premium Minelab GPX Series gold detectors.
The Minelab GPX Series gold detectors are specifically designed to detect gold from sub-gram nugget sizes to larger sizes. The Minelab GPX Series promises to detect gold more effectively than any other detector on the market.
Those arrested at the scene and, in the aftermath of the raid, are now awaiting prosecution by the United Arab Emirates authorities.
The Genuine Minelab; Genuine Performance; Stop Counterfeits campaign is committed to protecting the interests of customers by safeguarding the authenti- city and quality of Minelab products and brands.
“This raid has come about following an intense period of investigation. Minelab, like many leading worldwide brands has had to develop innovative strategies against counterfeit manufacturers based in China that sell direct to our developing markets and through major hubs such as Dubai,” states Minelab Australia GM Peter Charlesworth.
“Our customers want genuine performance that only genuine Minelab products can deliver. We are committed to our strategies and this significant result in Dubai reflects our intent. I’d like to commend the Dubai Criminal Investigation Department and our partners for their diligence and professionalism throughout this operation,” he adds.
Minelab launched its first hand-held gold detector in Australia in 1985 and says, over the past 28 years it has been at the forefront of metal detector design and innovation.
In recent years, Minelab’s market development work with small-scale artisanal gold miners and communities in Africa, Central and Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, has helped to transform their traditional mining activities and improve productivity and safety with the use of Minelab gold detectors.
As a result of a boom in activity, coun- terfeit manufacturers are known to target artisanal gold mining commu- nities to exploit their demand for these products.
Minelab has introduced a range of new security labels designed for usage on the control boxes and coils of its gold detection products and has just recently introduced a new SMS verification system.
“Customers across the world now have the opportunity to check if a GPX Series detector is genuine before they buy it, through our new SMS verification system. By simply texting the product’s serial number and the hidden code revealed by the security-viewing strip to us, we will verify by text that you are purchasing Genuine Minelab product. This new initiative is accessible and easy to use and so far, we have had excellent partici- pation across the globe,” says Europe, Middle-East and Africa Minelab GM Sheila Kelleher.