The battle against counterfeit products distribution continues as IT company, HP, together with local authorities have been able to seize about 200,000 counterfeit products in Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.

As reported, the products included HP-branded printer cartridges and modules that were meant to be used to assemble further counterfeits. In Kenya alone, the authorities successfully confiscated 5,400 counterfeit toner cartridges from 12 retail outlets in February 2020.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, saw a series of police raids between October 2019 and March 2020, resulting in the requisition of about 185,000 illegal items. According to HP, one of the raids was thanks to a consumer report to Customer Delivery Inspection (CDI), a unique, free protection service available to HP’s large and medium customers.

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Meanwhile, Nigerian authorities worked with the company to impound 7,100 illicit items in a series of outlet shop raids.

This initiative by HP is just a small part of the greater war against the trade of counterfeit products in the continent as pledged by various electronics companies including HP and LG.

“HP is dedicated to protecting our customers from illegal activity, and safeguarding them from unknowingly purchasing fake products,” said Elisabeth Moreno, Vice President & Managing Director, Africa, HP. “The excellent work of authorities in Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, in collaboration with HP, is something we are extremely proud of. The number of seizures that have come out of the African region over the last few months is astonishing and demonstrates the continued necessity of our Anti-Counterfeit and Fraud Programme.”

It is clear by now that the company has resolved to more aggression in this fight as they plan to protect their products’ strict quality and reliability standards.

Other than the seizure, the company also continues to actively educate its customers and partners through the Anti-Counterfeiting and Fraud (ACF) Programme to be vigilant against fake printing supplies.

Hopefully, other brands will actively adopt the same fight against the black market.