The Presidential Task Force for the Seizure and Disposal of Pirated Ghanaian Textiles yesterday seized 800 pieces of pirated textiles at three locations in Accra.
The early morning operation followed a tip-off which led a team of policemen to the Rawlings Park, China Community and the Sabat Motors area where the textiles were seized.
Some of the pirated textiles bore ATL, GTP and Printex designs.
A good number of the seized textiles, though pirated, bore the trademark of the Ghana Standards Authority.
The Chairman of the task force, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Samuel Naa Musah, told the Daily Graphic that unlike previous exercises, the men who undertook the operation did not face any resistance from the traders.
That, he said, was because the traders had been educated and were, therefore, aware that they were not supposed to trade in pirated textiles.
DSP Musah advised that anyone who wanted to import textiles should contact the vetting committee set up by the Ministry of Trade to ensure that their imports did not bear pirated designs.
One of the affected traders, Miss Dina Nyarko, told the Daily Graphic that she and her colleagues had displayed their wares early in the morning, when a team of policemen rushed on them, saying that they were selling illegal textiles and therefore seized them.
�We are not educated and because we cannot read or write, we are unable to always tell from the labels affixed to the textiles, which are genuine or otherwise,� she said, adding �we are doing our best in these challenging times to put bread on the table and pay our children�s school fees so why are the police doing this to us?�
Miss Nyarko appealed to President Mahama to step in and help the traders.
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