‘120 Billion Won’ Counterfeit Smuggling and Distribution Ring Caught by Customs

A's group smuggled counterfeit goods from overseas and distributed them domestically - flowchart. Provided by Korea Customs Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A gang involved in smuggling and distributing counterfeit goods worth about 120 billion KRW in genuine market value has been caught by customs authorities.

The Seoul Customs Headquarters of the Korea Customs Service announced on the 14th that four people, including A (38, female), were arrested on charges of violating the Trademark Act.

According to Seoul Customs, the group illegally imported and distributed over 61,000 counterfeit items such as bags, clothing, and shoes bearing famous overseas brand trademarks.

The gang divided roles with A in charge of sales management, B (38) managing the warehouse, C (58) handling domestic delivery, and D (38, female) responsible for smuggling.

Seoul Customs obtained information on the gang’s smuggling and distribution of counterfeit goods, traced back from the distribution stage to identify the location of the counterfeit goods storage warehouse, and seized all 15,000 counterfeit bags, wallets, and other items stored there.

Investigations revealed that to avoid detection by customs during import, they used dozens of stolen identities to disguise the goods as personal items and imported counterfeit products from China via express cargo and international mail.

Customs officials are organizing the counterfeit goods they seized to assess the situation. All confiscated counterfeit products are scheduled to be destroyed. Provided by the Korea Customs Service

They also imported trademarks and goods separately, attached trademarks and labels domestically, and stored them in secret warehouses.

To evade investigation during sales, they established a wholesale website for counterfeit goods accessible only to counterfeit goods retailers (hereafter ‘consignment sellers’), operated on a membership basis, and sold products exclusively through consignment sellers, demonstrating meticulous planning.

In particular, when shipping, they sent counterfeit goods using anonymous or false information, and thoroughly concealed the identities of organization members and consignment sellers by using burner phones and fake bank accounts.

A Seoul Customs Headquarters official stated, “To block the smuggling and distribution of counterfeit goods, we will strengthen continuous monitoring of SNS and online markets and conduct intensive planned crackdowns,” and urged consumers to immediately report any suspected counterfeit goods to the ‘Smuggling Report Center.’