In a cramped high-rise office in Hong Kong’s ritziest shopping district, -private investigator Ted Kavowras sits in front of a display of prosthetic disguises as he shares tales of China’s fake factories.
Mr Kavowras is a former New York City policeman who investigates counterfeiting on behalf of -foreign companies. He leads a team of expatriates who pose as buyers, visiting factories suspected of infringing on his clients’ intellectual property.
Armed with both artificial beards and front companies to conceal his identity, Kavowras has uncovered some unusual items in his investigations, including a knock-off of a patented mock penis that can be filled with fake urine to fool drug tests.