Blow to the underground economy. The seized products were in four warehouses in the San Luis industrial estate in Malaga. Operation "Delfin" is a consequence of investigations that began in Irún at the end of 2007 and five people have been arrested. Among the seized merchandise, close to one million counterfeit high-end watches stand out. It is the largest operation of its kind that has been carried out in Europe.

November 27, 2008. At the end of last week, the Tax Agency dismantled an illegitimate marketing network of counterfeit products that operated internationally and whose merchandise seized had a prior estimated valuation of around 500 million euros in market value. With this operation, in which five arrests were made and three other people were charged, and which remains open, the largest organization detected in Spain in the distribution of counterfeit merchandise is considered dismantled.

The huge amount of counterfeit products, of which a complete count has not yet been possible, was stored in four warehouses in the San Luis industrial estate in Malaga. Pending the final count, the number of counterfeit watches seized could exceed one million units of renowned brands, in addition to catalogs and false documentation related to them, as well as hundreds of thousands of watch batteries that were placed in painful working conditions by foreign citizens who used the organization as cheap labor.

Thousands of bags, wallets, belts, sports equipment, bottles of cologne, perfumes, sports shoes, sweaters, copies of movies and video games have also been seized. The arrest made by the Tax Agency has prevented the merchandise from reaching the market, with the consequent damage created to companies that operate within the law, and represents a hard blow to the underground economy throughout Europe.

The investigation began at the end of last year when Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency intercepted two trucks in Irún transporting 115,000 bottles of counterfeit cologne and perfume from the best-known brands on the market. Under the direction of the Court of Instruction number one of Irún, the Tax Agency began the appropriate investigations, detecting that citizens of Indian and Pakistani origin, with a high purchasing power, would be behind this massive introduction of counterfeit merchandise from Asian countries using a complex network of companies interposed for subsequent distribution. The investigators discovered that the merchandise coming from Asian countries and smuggled through different parts of Spain used four industrial warehouses in the San Luis industrial estate in Malaga as a logistics warehouse.

At the opportune moment, given the collection that had been made prior to the Christmas holidays, the Tax Agency officials proceeded to search the vessels and arrest the alleged perpetrators, who have been brought to justice. A Mercedes-Benz truck has also been seized, 6,200 euros, 830 pounds sterling, 205 Gibraltarian pounds and 120 dollars.

The seized merchandise, the detainees, delivery vehicles and other seized effects have been placed at the disposal of the Investigative Court on duty in Malaga.

Initial estimated list of seized merchandise:

COMMODITY	Units
WATCHES (main: Rolex, Cartier, Tous, Playboy, Dolce&Gabanna, etc.)	1000000
BAGS (LOEWE, TOUS, CAROLINA HERRERA, LOUIS VUITTON, etc.)	10000
WALLETS (id. than the previous one)	100000
BELTS (ID.)	10000
CAPS (ID.)	5000
PERFUMES AND COSMETICS (LANCOME, L'OREAL, GUCCI, CACHAREL, ETC.)	50000
T-SHIRTS, PANTS (LEVIS, EL NIÑO, LACOSTE, TOMMY HILFIGER, ETC.)	2000
SUNGLASSES	15000
DVD MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES	25000
VIRGIN CDs	10000
SNEAKERS	500
FOOTBALL SHIRTS (REAL MADRID, MILAN, CHELSEA, ARGENTINA, ETC.)	5000
MOBILE BATTERIES (NOKIA, SIEMENS, ETC.)	3000
MINIAL MOBILE SPEAKERS	500
WATCH BATTERIES	500000
TOYS	50000
PENS AND PENS (MONTBLANC, CARTIER...)	2000
PHOTOGRAPHIC REELS	2000