• Four people arrested as alleged perpetrators of a crime against industrial property

• Inspections have been carried out in six commercial establishments and two warehouses in the Madrid town of Fuenlabrada, where the counterfeit products were sold and distributed.

November 17, 2023.- Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with agents from the National Police, have seized more than 15,000 counterfeit telephone items of renowned brands in Madrid. Police have arrested four Chinese nationals suspected of committing a crime against industrial property. Inspections have been carried out in six commercial establishments and two warehouses in the Madrid town of Fuenlabrada where the counterfeit products were sold and distributed.

The investigation was launched in August 2023 following the receipt of six complaints on behalf of a well-known telephone company. The complaints revealed the existence of a series of establishments that allegedly offered mobile phone products and accessories suspected of infringing the industrial property rights of that brand. The company also provided several proofs of purchase in two of the establishments reported, which allowed the agents to verify that the items were indeed counterfeit.

Following several police investigations, investigators located the two warehouses where the counterfeit goods were hidden and the distribution sites. The persons involved were also identified, as well as their companies and employees, all of whom are Chinese nationals.

Four people arrested and 15,767 counterfeit products seized

Finally, at the beginning of October, a large-scale operation was carried out in the Madrid town of Fuenlabrada to carry out several inspections with the aim of intervening in the counterfeit material that was being sold, as well as to stop the criminal activity and arrest those responsible. As a result of these inspections, the agents managed to arrest the four sole administrators of the companies that owned the establishments under investigation, from which the counterfeit goods were distributed, and indicted nine of their employees. In addition, they found that most of those responsible already had previous convictions for crimes of the same nature, demonstrating the repetition of their criminal activities.

Furthermore, the operation has enabled the seizure of a large number of counterfeit products from various well-known brands in the mobile phone sector. Specifically, they have seized 15,767 items including chargers, batteries, headphones and cables.