Five containers of counterfeit goods have been confiscated by Customs officials following an extensive investigation.

The Customs Department said the five containers – two of them 40-feet long and three 20-feet long – were carrying thousands of items bearing counterfeit well-known brand names.

The items included clothes, belts, watches, handbags, wallets, seat covers, caps and shoes.

Members of the monitoring units noticed a number of discrepancies in a ship’s manifest, Customs said in a statement yesterday, adding that the vessel was then searched extensively when it arrived in Malta from the Far East.

A total of 20 containers have been confiscated by Customs since January.