Strike at piracy: The operation was carried out jointly with the Civil Guard and is the largest of its kind in Spain. The six containers seized came from China.

March 13, 2008. The Tax Agency, in collaboration with the Civil Guard, has seized more than 230,000 counterfeit products as part of an operation that began on 15 February when the Risk Analysis Unit at the Algeciras Customs Department detected, as a result of their investigations, inconsistencies in six 40-foot containers loaded in the Chinese port of Yantian, with Morocco as the declared destination. Experts from the Tax Agency calculated the market value of the goods seized at more than 100 million euros. The operation was completed on Friday 7 March.

The inspection of the first three containers resulted in the detection of a large volume of different brand merchandise, which ultimately proved to be counterfeit products. As a result, the remaining three containers were withheld, for which the goods had been declared as electronic integrated circuits, cotton and footwear. After the inspection, it was also found that these contained counterfeit merchandise.

The facts were reported to the Duty Court of Algeciras who agreed to initiate preliminary proceedings. They were also communicated to the holders of the protected industrial property rights, in accordance with the established procedure in the European Union rules, in order for them to certify the falsehood of the products.

The fight against falsification and piracy is one of the Tax Agency’s main areas of investigation, the aim of which is to combat the risk to consumers of counterfeited items and the unfair competition they cause for the corporate sector.

Once the final count of the goods was taken, it was found that the falsifications affect 45 brands, broken down as follows:

SUMMARY

	Article	Quantity	Brands
	Trainers	87,245	Adidas, Asics, Reebok, Guess, Puma, Nike, Converse, D.G., Levis.
	Wallets	4,300	Lacoste, Guess, Versace, Gucci, Chanel, Tous.
	Handbags	5,240	Chloé, Guess, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Tous.
	Small bags	1,550	Versace, Prada, Tous.
	Purses	5,250	Guess, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Tous.
	Hats	12,250	Converse.
	Ties	9,000	Navigare.
	Belts	13,100	Daniel Smith.
	Underwear	9,400	Calvin Klein, Polo, Louis Vuitton, Versace.
	Trousers	7,770	Boss, Polo, Versace.
	Jackets	4,845	Daniel Smith, Delberto, Quick Silver, Boccodo, Paul & Shark.
	Watches	55,500	Chanel, Rado, Tissot, Armani.
	Coats	1,520	Daniel Smith.
	Suits	1,265	Delberto, Versace.
	T-shirts	7,440	Marlboro, Gulso Shark, G-Star, Nike.
	Jersey	750	Armani, Paul Shark.
	Tracksuits	1975	Nike, Adidas.
	Jackets	900	G-Star.
	T-shirts	500	D-Star.