There have been reports about fake rum and cigarettes being sold from time to time across the island, however, information reaching THE STAR is that a bogus brand of Wriggles has surfaced on the market.

The matter was brought to THE STAR's attention last week when one man unknowingly bought a pack in downtown Kingston.

The situation has left him infuriated. "Look wah a gwan, mi buy a pack a Wrigleys downtown this morning and look whey dem sell mi," he said.

Chinese writing

Upon inspection, the package looked almost identical to the original brand of Doublemint Wrigleys, which is packaged in Chicago, USA. But interestingly the package of the fake gum has Chinese writing on it.

THE STAR understands that the Chinese knock-off, which is called Fuanmeile Shen Jian Chewing Gum, has become widely available downtown.

"Mi say a bare a dem deh a town a sell fi $20 and $30, everybody have dem," one woman told us when we trekked into the city. "A di wholesale people dem a import dem and a sell dem back fi likkle a nuttn, and if yuh no careful yuh will buy puss ina bag," the woman further noted.

When contacted, Ellis Laing, public education and information coordinator at the Bureau of Standards, told THE STAR that he was not aware of the gum.

He noted that once a complaint is made or information is received, the company's regulatory division would act on it.

"Our inspectors would be mandated to comb the marketplace," he said.

In the meantime, he also pointed out that a greater focus would also be placed on the ports of entry to prevent such fake products from entering the marketplace.