US Seizes $1B Worth of Fake Luxury Goods in N.Y.

Anyone who walks the streets of Manhattan can observe sidewalk distributors hawking counterfeit luxurious merchandise.

It’s massive enterprise, actually massive.

Just how massive turned clear Wednesday when prosecutors introduced the “largest ever seizure of counterfeit goods in US history” — an enormous haul of about 219,000 pretend purses, sneakers, clothes and different objects.

“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,” federal prosecutor Damian Williams mentioned.

Counterfeit items generally have a price far decrease than their actual counterparts.

Two males had been charged with trafficking in the counterfeit items.

Photos launched by the US Attorney’s Office for the southern district of New York confirmed warehouse rooms jammed with pretend designer purses, purses, sneakers and clothes.

One picture confirmed packing containers of items stacked on delivery pallets.

From January by the tip of October, the 2 defendants, Adama Sow, 38, and Abdulai Jalloh, 48, allegedly ran a large-scale knockoff items ring out of storage amenities in Manhattan, authorities mentioned.

Both males had been arrested on Wednesday, a press release mentioned.

“The trafficking of counterfeit goods is anything but a victimless crime because it harms legitimate businesses, governments, and consumers,” New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban mentioned.