Fake ab machines flood in

Ab Circle Pro, left, and the counterfeit version. Photo / Herald on Sunday

New Zealand Customs officers have seized counterfeit exercise machines worth up to $1.98 million in the past three years.

Figures obtained under the Official Information Act from the Customs Service show 6631 counterfeit machines labelled AB Circle Pro or Ab King Pro were seized since October 2007.

Authentic Ab King machines retail for $299 and Ab Circle Pro for $399, so the machines stopped at the border could be worth about $1.98 million on the black market.

Customs strategic and executive services manager Matt Roseingrave said Customs officers found the first shipment of counterfeit machines during a routine cargo inspection at Lyttleton Port using X-ray equipment. Other seizures were made in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington and Dunedin.

"To date, all intercepted shipments of the counterfeit goods came from China and close examination of the machines confirmed poor workmanship with no quality controls in place when compared with the genuine product. The machines would have been sold through retail outlets or advertised online," he said.

Some of the illegal importers were charged and fined through the courts, and the machines were destroyed, Roseingrave said.