Officers from the National Police, in a joint operation with Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency, have seized more than 18,000 counterfeit items in commercial establishments in Lloret de Mar (Girona).
The agents have arrested 16 people and have inspected 19 establishments where they have located numerous articles of well-known brands -textiles and leather goods, exposed or stored and ready for sale- whose market value exceeds half a million euro.
In a parallel investigation, a wholesale distribution network of counterfeit textile articles that were sold in markets in the province of Alicante has also been dismantled. Both actions are part of the European EMPACT initiative, which includes various operational actions in the field of trademark counterfeiting,
The investigation began in March, when the agents received several complaints made by the legal representatives of different prestigious brands. These complaints were directed against establishments open to the public in Lloret de Mar (Girona), where numerous counterfeit items were allegedly being stored, offered and marketed.
After investigations continued, the agents carried out a police device that ended with the arrest of 16 people and the inspection of 19 commercial establishments. In them they located numerous counterfeit products of recognised prestige brands that were exposed or stored and perfectly arranged for their distribution and illicit commercialisation. The effects seized are, mainly, textile articles and accessories such as t-shirts, pants, sweatshirts, trimmings, bags and leather goods that violate the industrial property rights of different well-known brands, and whose market value reaches 549,660 euro.
In addition, during the investigation they also located different plates for the materialisation in situ of the counterfeits, in such a way that by means of stamping, die-cutting or gluing, they adhered the brand logo to the leather goods or textile product.
In a parallel investigation, three people have been arrested and a total of 17,667 counterfeit textile items of well-known brands have been seized. The investigation began after the intervention of counterfeit clothing – polo shirts, t-shirts and pants – that were sold in markets in the province of Alicante. After various steps, the agents located two industrial warehouses where textile products were printed and sold wholesale.
The two actions are part of the Operational Action 3.4 FAKESTAR, which fights against the marketing of counterfeit products of recognised brands -specifically offline textiles- led by Spain through the National Police. The FAKESTAR action is part of a broad group of European actions to combat the infringement of intellectual and industrial property rights and the counterfeiting of products, all framed within the multidisciplinary European initiative EMPACT to combat organized crime in various fields.
