Federal authorities in New York City announced what they said is the largest seizure of counterfeit goods ever in the United States, consisting of luxury handbags, shoes, and accessories.
In a statement Wednesday, the New York Southern District Attorney’s Office said that two men had been arrested earlier in the day and charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods. The arrests were the result of a cooperative effort between the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the district attorney said.
“Today’s groundbreaking announcement underscores the unwavering commitment of HSI New York in the fight against intellectual property theft and serves as a testament to the dedication of our team and partner agencies, who have tirelessly pursued justice, culminating in the largest-ever seizure of this kind,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo.
“I extend my gratitude to all those involved for their relentless efforts and late nights dedicated to upholding the law,” he added.
According to the indictments, the accused—New York residents Abdulai Jalloh, 48, and Adama Sow, 38—allegedly jointly ran a large-scale counterfeit trafficking operation out of a storage facility located in Manhattan from January to October this year.
Mr. Jalloh also allegedly ran his own operation from a separate storage facility in Manhattan.
“The seizures announced today consist of merchandise with over a billion dollars in estimated retail value, the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in U.S. history,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
The prosecutors released photos of the warehouse, showing dozens of pallets full of boxes with an estimated suggested retail price of over $502 million.
Photos from the storage units allegedly used by Mr. Jalloh show shelves stacked from floor to ceiling with around $237 million worth of counterfeit luxury clothes, bags, handbags, wallets, sunglasses, and shoes.
Investigators said they have in total seized some 219,000 counterfeit items, worth $1.03 billion in retail price, though the actual street value of counterfeit items is typically significantly lower than their recommended retail price.
“The trafficking of counterfeit goods is anything but a victimless crime because it harms legitimate businesses, governments, and consumers,” NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said.
“Today’s indictments show how seriously the NYPD and our federal partners take this offense. And we will continue to work hard to hold accountable anyone who seeks to benefit by selling such items on the black market,” he added.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Mr. Williams also further thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for its assistance in the enormous seizure, the value of which comes close to that of all of reported counterfeit seizures made during 2020.
CBP reported making 26,503 seizures valued at $1.3 billion in retail price in 2020. Roughly $1.08 billion of those counterfeit goods originated from China.
According to data from the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, approximately 3.3 percent of global trade consists of counterfeit and pirated goods.