American justice announced mercredi soir la saisie record de quelque 220,000 sacs, vêtements et chaussures contrefaits et autres copies de produits de consommation de luxe d’une valeur de un milliard de dollars, du jamais-vu dans l’histoire des saisies aux USA.
The announcement by federal prosecutors in the southern state of New York, which includes Manhattan, is accompanied by photographs of rooms in a warehouse on the megacity’s main island, filled with boxes stacked on pallets, and with bags, purses, shirts and boxes of shoes. Manufacturers estimated the market value of these 219,000 seized items at an unprecedented figure of “approximately $1.03 billion,” according to the press release.
Two New York residents – Adama Sow, 38, and Abdulai Jalloh, 48 – were arrested and charged on Monday with “trafficking in counterfeit goods.” If prosecuted, these individuals could face up to ten years in prison. “The seizures announced today represent an estimated retail value of more than $1 billion, the largest seizure of counterfeit goods in United States history,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
Street sellers
On the black market, counterfeit and copied brand-name and luxury goods are worth much less than real goods. For one of the chiefs of the New York police, Edward Caban, “trafficking in counterfeit products is nothing less than a crime without physical victims because it attacks legal companies, governments and consumers.”
The trafficking occurred between January and October of this year, according to US justice. New York, like many international megacities around the world, sees its sidewalks around tourist sites covered with street vendors selling counterfeit clothing, bags, sporting goods and jewelry from well-known brands at their trestle-mounted tables.
Source: BFM TV
