• Four people arrested as allegedly responsible for 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 fake products were marketed and distributed.

November 17, 2023.- Customs Surveillance Officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with agents of the National Police, have seized more than 15,000 counterfeit branded telephone items in Madrid of recognized prestige. The agents have arrested four people of Chinese nationality as allegedly responsible for 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 fake products were marketed and distributed.

The investigation began 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 in which, allegedly, products and accessories for mobile phones suspected of infringing the industrial property rights of that brand were offered. Likewise, the company provided several proofs of purchase in two of the reported establishments, which allowed the agents to verify that they were indeed counterfeit goods.

After several police efforts, investigators located the two warehouses where the fake merchandise was hidden and the distribution locations. On the other hand, they identified the people involved, as well as their companies and employees, all of them of Chinese nationality.

Four people arrested and 15,767 counterfeit products seized

Finally, at the beginning of October, a large 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 marketed, as well as the cessation of criminal activity and the arrest of those responsible. . As a result of these inspections, the agents managed to arrest the four sole directors of the companies that owned the investigated establishments, from which the counterfeit merchandise was distributed, and the indictment of nine of their employees. Furthermore, they verified that most of those responsible already had a record of crimes of the same nature, revealing the repetition of their criminal activities.

On the other hand, the operation has allowed the intervention of a large number of counterfeit products from different and well-known brands in the mobile telephone sector. Specifically, they have seized 15,767 items, including chargers, batteries, headphones and cables.