Alex Trelinski
FOUR Benidorm shop owners have been arrested for selling fake-branded clothes and accessories.
1,913 items with a retail value of €200,000 were removed by the Guardia Civil in simultaneous raids on premises they suspected were breaking the law.
Experts certified the goods as being counterfeit despite having labels from a variety of well-known sports and luxury brands.
The fake products were of low quality in terms of the material used and in their design.
One of the raided shops even had a double bottom behind the counter where the bogus items were stored.
None of the retailers could provide any evidence as to where they got the items from and had no authorisation to sell the brand labels that were forged.
Three men and a woman have been charged with breaking copyright laws.
The Guardia Civil said their actions had health and safety implications for customers buying the sub-standard products as well as affecting legitimate businesses.
READ MORE:
- Mass fakery at Benidorm ‘English Zone’ market on Spain’s Costa Blanca
- Spanish police seize €300 million worth of fake goods in Europe record
- EU-funded task force seizes counterfeit items of clothing and luxury goods worth €16.5m in Spain
