In a statement, Nokia’s general manager for East and Southern Africa Kenneth Oyolla said they recently conducted a swoop at the Moi International Airport, in Eldoret, and seized thousands of fake Nokia handsets and accessories.

“Following our complaint to the Kenya Bureau of Standards’ Weights and Measures Department, a raid was conducted at the airport warehouse where the suspected products were stored before distribution; 17 783 counterfeit Nokia handsets and accessories were seized,” he said.

A Somali businessman was arrested in connection with the seizures and fined Sh1.5 million by an Eldoret court which also ordered the destruction of the goods.

Oyolla said Nokia would continue with its collaborative efforts through training of Kenyan Revenue Authority and the Kenya Bureau of Standards officials to distinguish fake from genuine Nokia products.

The company is also organising training for immigration officers at border entry points to stem the entry of fake handsets, he added.

The recently-enacted anti-counterfeit law, he added, was a shot in the arm for the economy and a major victory for legal businesses such as Nokia that have invested heavily to offer customers genuine products. The law spells out harsh penalties including a fine of Sh500 000 or a five-year imprisonment for those found guilty of peddling counterfeit goods.

“Counterfeiting is an illegal activity that affects many successful consumer product companies on a global basis in a wide range of industries and the national economies in which they do business. This illegal practice has a debilitating, draining effect on the Kenyan economy through lost revenues, fewer jobs in legitimate local businesses and law enforcement costs among other things,” said a statement.

Oyolla said Nokia would continue to undertake consumer awareness programmes especially on how to identify genuine Nokia products from the packaging, features, pricing and warranty period as well as risks of using counterfeited products.

“As a global company, Nokia partners with and takes a leadership position in a wide network of organisations to advocate for legislation, regulations, procedures and other enforcement policies to protect the broader industry, including Coalition of Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR), International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC), Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC) among others,” he said.

He adviced customers to buy Nokia products from authorised distributors and retailers to ensure they got their 12-month warranty. And if a product is purchased from a location other than an authorised dealer, Oyolla warned, extreme caution should be exercised especially when the price is substantially less than that being quoted by Nokia authorised dealers,” he added.