It’s a record-breaking bust.
Federal authorities in New York announced that they conducted the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods, consisting of items like handbags, wallets, shoes and other fake luxury merchandise valued more than a staggering $1 billion. There were over 219,000 items seized.
“The seizures announced…consist of merchandise with over a billion dollars in estimated retail value, the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in U.S. history,” US Attorney Damian Williams said.
38-year-old Adama Sow of Queens and 48-year-old Abdulai Jalloh of Manhattan are each charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods. If convicted, they could each face a decade behind bars.
The knock-offs were trafficked from a Manhattan storage unit among other locations from January to October. Prosecutors released photographs of shelves stacked with counterfeit goods at the various sites.
“The trafficking of counterfeit goods is anything but a victimless crime because it harms legitimate businesses, governments, and consumers,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said in a statement. “Today’s indictments show how seriously the NYPD and our federal partners take this offense.”
