Largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods valued at over $1 billion; Two charged in Manhattan trafficking operation
In a historic bust, US authorities expose a massive counterfeit goods operation in Manhattan, seizing over $1 billion worth of knockoff designer products. Two individuals face charges in this significant crackdown.
Federal prosecutors said they had charged two individuals with trafficking in counterfeit goods after making the largest-ever seizure in US history of counterfeit designer handbags, shoes, and other products, with an estimated retail value of over $1 billion. It’s a really significant business.
The exact magnitude became evident on Wednesday, when the US government declared the “largest ever seizure of counterfeit goods in US history”—a staggering amount of around 219,000 counterfeit handbags, shoes, clothes, and other items.
Prosecutors stated in a statement that Adama Sow, 38, and Abdulai Jallow, 48, were charged with operating the unlawful enterprise out of a Manhattan storage facility, and that their indictments were unsealed on Wednesday in New York.
The statement stated that more than 50,000 knockoff products were discovered on property owned by Jallow, a Manhattan resident, and more than 83,000 knockoff items were removed from Sow’s, a Queens resident, premises. They may spend up to ten years behind bars if found guilty.
“The seizures announced today consist of merchandise with over $1 billion in estimated retail value, the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in US history,” said Damian Williams, a federal prosecutor.
Usually, the value of counterfeit items is far lower than that of genuine ones.
Numerous purses, backpacks, wallets, duffel bags, and sunglasses bearing the trademarks of luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Christian Dior, Gucci, Burberry, and Hermès were crammed onto metal shelves at the warehouse where the products were kept, according to photos taken there.
Charges of trafficking in counterfeit products were brought against two men.
The US Attorney’s Office for the southern district of New York revealed photos showing warehouse rooms crammed with phony designer handbags, apparel, shoes, and purses.
In one picture, shipping pallets were used to stack crates of products.
The two suspects, Adama Sow, 38, and Abdulai Jalloh, 48, reportedly operated a massive imitation products ring out of storage facilities in Manhattan from January until the end of October, according to the police.
“The trafficking of counterfeit goods is anything but a victimless crime because it harms legitimate businesses, governments, and consumers,” New York Police Department Commissioner Edward A. Caban said in a statement.
A statement indicated that both males had been taken into custody on Wednesday.
Commissioner Edward Caban of the New York Police Department stated, “The trafficking of counterfeit goods is anything but a victimless crime because it harms legitimate businesses, governments, and consumers.”
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