The Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE) dismantled an international counterfeiting network earlier this week after a four-year investigation into criminal offenses involving the sale and concealment of goods, counterfeiting, imitation, or illegal use of trademarks, and money laundering.
“The investigation began with the identification of thousands of counterfeit items at a national logistics platform, which appeared to be of high-quality standard, easily mistaken for original items,” the authority stated in a press release.
At the beginning of the week, 15 search warrants, both residential and non-residential, were executed in the municipality of Guimarães. A coordinated operation was conducted across six locations, involving more than 30 ASAE inspectors with the cooperation of EUROPOL and the Northern Regional Unit.
“The operation identified a group of individuals operating as a criminal association, leading to the indictment of two individuals and two economic operators, all subject to the coercive measure of Identity and Residence Term,” the statement added.
Authorities seized a total of more than 250,000 items, mostly clothing, textile accessories, and footwear. The operation also uncovered a set of weapons, including an alarm pistol with ammunition and two gas spray cartridges, 21 electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones, several storage units (disks, pendrives, and SD cards), a digital wallet (pendrive) for cryptocurrencies, various company stamps, and documentation relevant for evidence purposes.
ASAE also reported the confiscation of several luxury goods, including four watches (Rolex, Breitling, and Cartier), two vehicles, and €8,400 in cash.
The total value of the seizures amounts to approximately €1,230,000.
