The Egyptian market may contain large amounts of counterfeit coins, according to an official at the Public Union of Chambers of Commerce. Ahmed Abu Gabal asked the military council to investigate the possibility that large quantities of coins were smuggled into Egypt. Abu Gabal told Youm7 that the fake coins entered Egypt on a shipment of imported toys, where they were sold for 80 piastres (U.S. $0.13). 100 piastres make up 1 Egyptian Pound (U.S. $0.17) “Shipments of toys coming from China to Egypt are a convenient way to smuggle,” said Abu Gabal. “They [goods] are shipped in large containers without being checked extensively.” He added that before January 25 Egyptian Revolution, large amounts of medicine were smuggled into Egypt. Medications like Viagra and Tramadol entered Egypt through toy shipments, which spread across the Egyptian market. The fake Egyptian pounds made in China resemble the real coins, but are are lightweight and manufactured for around 25 piastres (U.S. $0.4). After being smuggled to Egypt they are sold for 80 piastres, earning a profit of over 200 percent. “Smuggled goods in Chinese shipments came to light few years ago due to the difficulty of searching the toys, because they are easily broken,” said Abu Gabal. Monitoring systems are now undertaking extensive measures to check for smuggled Chinese goods. Port inspectors in Suez captured 11 tons of smuggled Chinese goods in containers containing Textiles and different household products.
