The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS) has held training seminars with customs officers in Dubai as it looks to tackle counterfeit watches at the point of market entry.
The FHS carried out the training at the request of the Dubai authorities, describing the "excellent level of cooperation" it has held with Dubai police for a number of years.
A statement on the FHS site said: "[The relationship is] borne out by highly satisfying results obtained in 2012 in relation to seizures and operations on markets. For all sorts of reasons, cooperation with customs authorities is more difficult to secure. It is however an essential piece on the chessboard in the fight against counterfeiting.
"It is always more worthwhile and efficient to seize litigious goods at the point of entry onto the territory, during customs inspections, than to hunt them down on street markets".
The FHS highlighted the issue that customs officers have, with more and more goods to check but much less time in which to do so. It said the "obvious answer" was training and cooperation such as it offers. It said: "Officers responsible for inspections must be able to rely on clear and precise information".
The FH is now offering customs training seminars in Europe and Asia.
