Fight against piracy and counterfeiting: Operation ‘Battery’

• The production center, hidden behind a partition in a warehouse in the Cobo Calleja industrial estate in Fuenlabrada, had six machines with the capacity to prepare 25,000 packs of batteries per day and electronic memories from well-known brands.
• Two people of Chinese nationality have been arrested for alleged crimes of smuggling and industrial property.
• In addition to the manufacturing and packaging machinery, 226,000 batteries, more than 5,000 'pendrives', 176 memory cards and 250 boxes with hundreds of thousands of products for packaging and labeling have been seized.

May 1, 2018 .- On April 19, the Tax Agency dismantled a clandestine warehouse dedicated to counterfeiting batteries and batteries in the Cobo Calleja industrial estate, in Fuenlabrada (Madrid). 'usb' memories, using the logos of two well-known brands in the sector. The warehouse had the capacity to label and package, using generic batteries from China, 25,000 packages of batteries per day and generate income close to 75,000 euros per day of work. During the so-called 'Battery' operation, two people of Chinese nationality have been arrested and machinery and abundant manufacturing, packaging and labeling material have been seized.

The operation begins when Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency become aware of suspicious movements, due to the unusual hours in which they occurred, in an area of the Cobo Calleja industrial estate in Fuenlabrada. Subsequent investigations lead to delimiting a certain area of the polygon to end up detecting in one of the streets of the surveillance perimeter two warehouses located between two Chinese restaurants that are completely different from the rest and are strategically located, on the corner of an alley that has a camera. of vigilance.

The investigations focused on these warehouses, on April 19, officials from the Customs Surveillance Operational Unit of the Tax Agency in Madrid proceeded to search both facilities. Specifically, in one of them the employee of an agency is identified and it is verified that the measurements of the premises to be searched do not coincide with the exterior measurements of the warehouse.

At that moment, two people, of Chinese nationality, try to run away through the back door of the warehouse, carrying the door keys and a green plastic bag with documentation referring to customer lists and merchandise inventory. Immediately the officials stop them and discover that a partition separates the ship into two parts; on the one hand, the agency, which has no relationship with the illicit activity, and on the other a space hidden from view from the main street.

Machinery in motion

Inside the warehouse, the officials found machinery that was still hot, through which adhesives from a well-known brand were being placed in virgin piles (without any type of brand), as well as cardboard for packaging, boxes, stickers for the boxes, and the rest of the elements necessary to impersonate brands from generic batteries.
 
There are also 'pendrive' type memories of various capacities that simulated another recognized brand and various microSD memory adapters. Since cardboard of this brand was also found unused for packaging, researchers are certain that the electronic memories detected are also false.

The clandestine factory had the capacity to prepare about 25,000 packs of batteries per day, which could mean an estimated, undeclared income of close to 75,000 euros per day.

The two people of Chinese nationality are presented before the judicial authority, a man as detained and a woman as under investigation, for the alleged crimes of smuggling and against Industrial Property.

The affected brands have taken charge of the intervened goods and the proceedings have been sent to the Court of Instruction No. 5 of Fuenlabrada, Madrid on duty.

intervened material

• 4 machines for making batteries; Each machine corresponds to a battery size.
• 1 machine to heat the blister packs for battery packaging.
• 1 machine to assemble the final package.
• 1 compressor.
• Batteries: 226,400 units.
• Pendrives (different capacities): 5,100 units
• Micro SD cards + adapter: 176 units
• 250 boxes with hundreds of thousands of units of various materials for assembly, packaging, labeling and packaging

Customs Supervision: Filing complaints for smuggling and related crimes
Toll-free 900351378.
Email: denunciasvigilanciaaduanera@correo.aeat.es

Note: Photographic annex is included.