ROME, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Italian police said Saturday they had seized more than 200,000 'dangerous' counterfeit toys worth five million euros (seven million dollars) and the Chinese manager of the warehouse where they were found faced prosecution.

During the raid codenamed 'China Toys' financial police found the toys in three sheds in a Rome suburb. The toys, which had come from Asia, were packed in boxes with labels saying they met European Union standards, but the toys themselves were not labelled.

BEIJING, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - Police in south China's Guangdong province are stepping up the fight against counterfeit money, one of the main obstacles to the development of a healthy financial system, state media said Wednesday.

The issue has attained greater urgency as new data have shown that as much as 90 percent of all counterfeit cash seized in China originated in Guangdong, the China Daily reported.

BUDAPEST, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Hungarian police have arrested six men after seizing tonnes of special paper made in Germany that counterfeiters were planning to use to print fake euros, they said Monday.

'The national police last Thursday confiscated more than eight tonnes of Silkeborg paper at Gyor,' west of Budapest, national police chief Jozsef Bencze said.

The paper could be used to make fake currency to the tune of 441 million euros (608 million dollars), he added.

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TOKYO, Aug 23, 2007 (AFP) - Japan has seized a record high number of counterfeit goods since the beginning of the year, mostly coming via China and South Korea, police said Thursday.

The counterfeit products flowing into the world's second largest economy included fake designer label bags and attire, as well as a growing amount of pirated software and DVDs.

SHANGHAI, Aug 21, 2007 (AFP) - Two Chinese shoemakers and French retailer Auchan have been ordered to pay Nike 350,000 yuan (46,000 dollars) in compensation for making and selling fake sneakers, state media said Tuesday.

The two shoemakers based in southeast China's Fujian province made runners bearing logos identical to Nike's Air Jordan -- a silhouette of former basketball star Michael Jordan slam-dunking, the China Daily reported.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20, 2007 (AFP) - Six months after sniffing their way to fame in Malaysia, Labrador crime dogs Lucky and Flo were awarded medals Monday for 'outstanding service' in tracking down pirated discs.

The exploits of the canine sleuths, who nosed out around 21 million ringgit (six million dollars) in illegal merchandise during their half-year stint, endeared them to Malaysians and regularly landed them on the front pages here.

BELGRADE, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Serbian police announced Thursday they had seized hundreds of thousands of euros and dollars in counterfeit money, believed to be printed in Germany.

The fake notes -- 581,800 in euros (797,175 dollars) and 80,200 in US dollars -- had been printed in Germany on the original paper once used for printing the currency of the former Yugoslavia, said a police statement.

They believed that more counterfeit money had already been put in circulation, the statement said.

ALGER, Aug 8, 2007 (AFP) - Algerian police have seized six million dollars in fake 10-dollar notes and arrested two suspects, police said Wednesday.

The record haul was made Tuesday during a routine road check near Algiers when officers found the money in the possession of a 35-year-old Algerian national whose identity was not given.

He told police he had an accomplice from Niger who was later detained in the town of Bab-Ezzouar.

HELSINKI, July 25, 2007 (AFP) - Finnish customs arrested five European and African citizens as they were trying to smuggle fake brand watches and mobile phone components destined to the Spanish and Polish markets, the Finnish authorities said on Wednesday.

According to the customs, it is extremely rare that smugglers travel by plane and hide the counterfeit merchandise in their luggage.

The customs found 7,000 fake Rolex, Cartier, IWC, Emporio Armani and Bulgari watches hidden in their baggage.