Some of the Vallourec pipes seized by Dubai Customs.

Dubai Customs stopped an attempt to smuggle 58 Vallourec counterfeit oil and gas pipes into the country.

The achievement is the fruit of full coordination between the IPR and Intelligence Departments, which follows the UAE’s commitment to protect intellectual property rights and brand owners and their business from violations. 

A counterfeit Vallourec pipe. 

This is one of the plenty success stories of fighting fake products, protecting society and the environment from their hazards that the Customs have been working on tirelessly.

Counterfeiting the seamless steel of Vallourec pipes, which is a leading manufacturer of tubular solutions, can pose great hazards to the oil and gas sector and the safety of its workforce. 

Yousef Ozair Mubarak, Director of IPR Department.

“Counterfeiting has a damaging effect on business, the economy and the general population, and when it comes to oil and gas pipes, it can wreak havoc on the environment as well,” said Yousef Ozair Mubarak, Director of IPR Department. “As soon as we were alerted about this shipment of fake pipes, we moved swiftly to seize and recycle the contraband to prevent any potential damage to the environment. This is our commitment towards brand owners in order to provide them the best investment conditions in support of sustainable economic development.”

The IPR Department received a tip-off that 4 containers onboard a vessel coming from an Asian country are carrying 58 counterfeit oil and gas pipes. The containers were tracked and seized after a thorough technical inspection. 

Shuaib Al Suwaidi, Director of Customs Intelligence Department. 

Commenting on the seizure, Shuaib Al Suwaidi, Director of Customs Intelligence Department said: “Our control room spots and tracks any high-risk consignments of restricted or prohibited goods before their arrival to Dubai using the Smart Vessel Tracking System, which Dubai Customs developed for the purpose. We received information from our IPR Department and acted accordingly. We tracked down the suspected shipment and eventually intercepted a significant haul of illicit counterfeit steel pipes.”