Alex Trelinski
A MAJOR supplier of fake goods to illegal street sellers in Costa Blanca tourist areas has been taken down in Elche.
Two warehouses containing 36,000 counterfeit items with a potential retail value of over €780,000 were raided by the Guardia Civil.
Five men of Chinese, Moroccan, and Ecuadorian nationalities have been arrested for infringing copyright.
READ MORE:
- Chinese nationals arrested for importing €6m of fake goods to sell in Spain
- War declared on illegal sellers hawking fake goods along beach promenades on Costa Blanca
Torrevieja’s Policia Local cooperated in the probe with many unlicensed street hawkers in the city getting their supplies from Elche.
Most of the items were imported clothing which legally cleared customs checks but were then altered to include well-known brand logos.
A multi-layered network of importers as well as main and secondary distributors were uncovered during investigations.
Experts joined Guardia Civil officers in the warehouse raids to confirm that fakes were being distributed.
Meanwhile, in another blow against counterfeit sales, the Policia Nacional raided a Benidorm shop.
1,111 fakes were seized and the 43-year-old store owner was arrested.
Click here to read more Costa Blanca News from The Olive Press.
