Sri Lanka police are looking out for manufactures of counterfeit merchandise after a factory was raided with large

quantities of fake team shirts of ongoing the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, a spokesman said on Monday.

Police Media Spokesman, SP Ajith Rohana told Xinhua that special crime unit, Colombo Crime Division (CCD) is continuing

investigation following a series of raids on retailers in the market in Colombo and closed down a factory in

Borelesgamuwa, a small town 15 kilometers away from the capital which was in the process of producing large quantities

of fake team shirts.

"The factory owner is to be charged under intellectual property act," the police spokesman said.

The raids followed a complaint to the Sri Lankan police by cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council

(ICC), relating to the protection of trade marks and logos associated with the ICC World Twenty20 championship now

going on in Sri Lanka

Iain Higgins, ICC's Head of Legal, said: "Counterfeit goods are a menace to all global events and the ICC is determined

to protect not only the valuable commercial rights of its partners, but also the interests of the general public who

may find themselves unwittingly purchasing inferior counterfeit products believing them to be official event

merchandise" .

"Similar raids were carried out with great success during the ICC Cricket World Cup last year and we will continue

throughout the course of the ICC World Twenty20 to pursue criminal action against those manufacturers and traders who

are responsible for any other infringements that come to our attention," Higgins said.

The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 slated for Sept. 18 to Oct. 7 is the first time for the tournament to be held in Asia.

(Source: Xinhua)