United States Ambassador Molly Bordonaro and Nike Senior Executive Howard Slusher thanked the staff of Malta Customs Department for their diligence in detecting counterfeit goods during a visit they made earlier this week, a department statement said yesterday.

The past year has been a banner for the department, where over 20 containers of counterfeit merchandise were seized and in May 2005, Malta Customs took the lead in the EU’s Operation FAKE.

During the visit, Ms Bordonaro and Mr Slusher witnessed a demonstration by department employees on how the Vehicle and Container Inspection System (VACIS) scans selected containers and detects illicit goods.

Mr Slusher, who works closely with Nike founder and CEO Phil Night, emphasised that the success of Malta Customs helped to support free enterprise, creativity and ingenuity of individuals and companies around the world.

The US Embassy in Malta donated the VACIS equipment to Malta Customs in 2004 primarily to counter the proliferation of illicit weapons and weapons systems where some successes have also been registered. Customs officials noted that in the last two years over 380,000 Nike products have been confiscated by Customs Officers.