Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department has busted the largest ever counterfeit jewelry case and seized counterfeit jewelry values at approximately $709,677, according to China’s Xinhua News Agency.

In raids against 10 locations in Kowloon around noon on Sept. 26, officers from the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau seized 450 pieces of counterfeit jewelry, including rings, bracelets, necklaces, and pendants from five jewelry shops, the news agency reports.

Four men and seven women were arrested, the agency reports.

The story says officers seized most of the counterfeit jewelry from two shops, in To Kwa Wan and Kowloon Bay, which targeted Mainland tourists and that in those two shops counterfeit jewelry seized was less than 10 percent of the total goods on sale.

A spokesperson for the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau reportedly told the news agency that China’s customs department had been cooperating with trademark owners to provide surveillance. Strategic partnerships had been formed with the industries to heighten their awareness of suspected trademark infringement activities.

JCK