Counterfeit Luxury Goods Worth 1.3 Trillion Won in New York... Largest Scale Ever

Largest Seizure in US Counterfeit Goods Case
"Counterfeit Products Harmful to Companies and Consumers"

A large quantity of counterfeit luxury brand goods was seized by authorities at a warehouse in New York, USA.

The U.S. Southern District of New York announced on the 16th (local time) that the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New York Police Department (NYPD) jointly conducted an investigation and confiscated 219,000 counterfeit items from a warehouse in Manhattan, New York. If the counterfeit goods, including stored handbags, were genuine, their value would amount to $1.03 billion (approximately 1.3 trillion KRW).

The prosecution described this as the largest seizure in any counterfeit goods-related case in the United States to date.

Counterfeit products such as handbags stored in a warehouse. [Image source=Yonhap News Agency·U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York]

Along with the seizure of counterfeit goods, two suspects were arrested and charged with selling counterfeit products. These individuals are known to operate a counterfeit goods trafficking organization in New York, and if found guilty, they could face up to 10 years in prison.

The Manhattan warehouse where they stored the counterfeit goods reportedly served as a logistics hub where large shipments were distributed to individual sellers.

In New York, a major tourist destination worldwide, counterfeit goods are illegally sold not only in major tourist areas such as Chinatown but also on streets in central Manhattan.

The NYPD stated in a press release, "The police and federal government take the issue of counterfeit goods very seriously," adding, "We will respond strictly to counterfeit goods that harm businesses and consumers."

In South Korea, 'Fake Luxury Goods' Surge 141% After COVID Ends... Rolex Tops Seized Items

Meanwhile, in South Korea, the amount of seized 'fake luxury goods' has surged by 141% over the past year. According to data submitted by the Korea Customs Service to Han Byung-do, a member of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party, the amount of intellectual property rights violations seized last year was 563.9 billion KRW, a 141.1% increase compared to the previous year (233.9 billion KRW).

After recording 521.7 billion KRW and 660.9 billion KRW in 2018 and 2019 respectively, the amount decreased to 260.2 billion KRW in 2020 and 233.9 billion KRW in 2021 following the spread of COVID-19, but showed an increasing trend again last year.

The top seized item was the luxury watch ROLEX. Over the past six years, ROLEX accounted for 306.8 billion KRW in seizures. It was followed by Louis Vuitton (238.8 billion KRW), Chanel (137.9 billion KRW), Burberry (88.0 billion KRW), and Gucci (76.6 billion KRW). Nike was the only sports brand to rank within the top 10.