Fake Nescafe, Ovaltine and Downy factory raided

Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has raided a counterfeit-goods operation supplying small shops with fake Nescafe coffee, Ovaltine cocoa and Downy fabric softener.

Four suspects were arrested after simultaneous court-authorised searches of a warehouse in Saraburi and a house in Bangkok's Thung Khru district. Police seized 226,720 items, with estimated value put at 2,629,700 baht.

The operation was announced on 24 July at CIB headquarters by CIB commissioner Police Lieutenant General Nattasak Saowanasai, together with officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division and Department of Intellectual Property officials.

Complaints from Thonburi shopkeepers

Police Major Wivatthanchai Kluenkaew, deputy superintendent of Economic Crime Suppression Division Sub-Division 1, said the inquiry began after small shop operators and members of the public in the Thonburi area complained about people claiming to be sales representatives.

The group allegedly offered cheap wholesale supplies of fake Nescafe sachet coffee, Ovaltine sachet cocoa and Downy fabric softener. Investigators followed the trail to the Saraburi warehouse, where the goods were said to have originated, and to the Thung Khru house where they were stored.

Those arrested were Kaset, 59; Chan, 55; Chatnuwat, 47; and Wanchana, 40. Their surnames were withheld.

All four admitted the allegations, police said. They were charged with jointly counterfeiting and possessing for sale goods bearing registered trademarks, as well as using another person's name, image, design or wording on goods and packaging in a way intended to make the public believe they were another trader's products.

Machinery and more than 168,000 sachets seized

The seized material included four powder and liquid filling machines, a mixer, mixing tanks, packing, sealing and printing equipment, a barcode machine and an extractor fan.

Police also found 416 boxes containing a combined 168,588 sachets of counterfeit Nescafe coffee, Ovaltine cocoa and Downy fabric softener. A further 119 sacks held cocoa powder, coffee powder, milk powder, sugar and non-dairy creamer.

More than 55,000 pieces of branded packaging, sachet rolls and cardboard boxes carrying Downy, Nescafe and Ovaltine logos were also seized.

Wider intellectual-property crackdown

Awoot Wongsawat, deputy director-general of the Department of Intellectual Property, said more than 1,000 intellectual-property infringement cases were handled last year, with over 3.5 million items seized and estimated damage exceeding 1.2 billion baht.

In the first six months of 2026, authorities had made 457 further arrests, seizing more than 1.6 million items with estimated damage exceeding 800 million baht, he said.

The department said it would continue working closely with relevant agencies to suppress intellectual-property violations.

Picture courtesy of Thaitabloid

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26 July 2026