Seven detained during operation to dismantle counterfeiting networks in Portugal and Spain

A joint operation between the PNP and the Spanish National Police, led by Europol, led to the dismantling of an organized international anti-counterfeiting network and the arrest of seven people, with the confiscation of 20 tons of goods, mainly shoes.

In a statement, the National Republican Guard (GNR) said that the operation carried out by the financial actions unit of the Évora squad under the leadership of the Department of Investigation and Criminal Affairs (DIAP) of Paredes (Porto) and dubbed “Love”, resulted in the seizure of 34,436 counterfeit items, mainly shoes, as part of an investigation that has been ongoing for “about a year.”

The investigation was directed against “an international criminal organization that was involved in the illegal production and sale of counterfeit clothing and controlled a secondary distribution network throughout the country and in the Kingdom of Spain.”

According to the GNR, during the investigation “it could be seen that it was supported by a complex scheme to send postal parcels from Portugal destined for distributors based in the Kingdom of Spain, aimed at masking the contents and concealing senders and recipients.” “.

In Portugal, 17 search warrants were executed, including eight home searches and nine outside home searches, “with the aim of dismantling structures involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit products and collecting evidence of responsibility for their operation throughout.” “

As a result of the searches in Faf, Felgueiras, Guimarães, Wiesel and Vila do Conde, 22,136 counterfeit items were seized, including clothing and shoes with an estimated value of more than 800 thousand euros, 2,695 euros in cash, mid-range vehicles, machinery and raw materials, and also “various IT equipment and related documentation for evidentiary purposes.”

Still eight people were charged in Portugal: six men and two women aged between 32 and 58, as well as two companies, “accused of committing acts capable of justifying criminal offenses such as counterfeiting, qualified tax fraud, criminal association and money laundering.”

“In the Kingdom of Spain, the National Police carried out seven arrests, seven searches at home and outside in the region of Madrid and Alicante, confiscated approximately 507 thousand euros in cash and 12,300 counterfeit items (shoes), bank accounts, 19 properties, three vehicles confiscated, and 10 profiles were blocked on social networks where products were sold,” the GNR statement further explains.

The operation in Portugal involved 67 members of the Financial Action Unit (UAF), one Europol member and five Spanish National Police investigators, supported by GNR units.

In Spain, an officer and a sergeant of the Ukrainian Armed Forces monitored the operations.