Commerce Commission and Police net three arrests

Co-operation between Commerce Commission and Police results in three arrests

Three men have been arrested by Dunedin Police and charged under the Crimes Act in relation to a Commerce Commission investigation into an international operation involving the sale of speakers from the back of vans that hit New Zealand shores earlier this year.

The Commission has been investigating the operation since it received information from its counterpart in Western Australia that the operation was heading to New Zealand. The Commission has been aware of operations in Auckland, Whangarei, Taupo and Christchurch.

It is alleged that the stereo speakers, branded Pro Audio or Acoustic Reference, have been promoted as being made or developed in the USA and sold with a 'certificate of authenticity'. The speakers have been represented as having a suggested retail price of $1,999 per pair however they are allegedly made in China with an estimated value of $50 per pair.

Dunedin Police arrested three men earlier this week after working closely with Commerce Commission investigators. The men have been charged jointly with conspiring with intent to deceive under the Crimes Act.

Fair Trading Branch Manager Graham Gill said that the case clearly demonstrated the results that could be achieved by enforcement agencies working closely together.

"This allegedly fraudulent operation has been brought to a standstill thanks to co-operation between the Commission and the Police," Mr Gill said.

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