Fakes and frauds in the Balearics

OFFICERS of the Guardia Civil together with officials from the National Tax Office have closed down a number of companies in the Balearics who were engaged in the manufacture and sale of counterfeit branded clothing.

No less than 31 people have been charged with offences connected with the breach of Intellectual Property rights and the operation has confiscated more than 10,000 fake garments or industrial transfers for use on T-shirts together with 13 industrial textile printing machines.

Officers visited 14 commercial retail outlets and three industrial buildings in the municipalities of Son Castelló, El Arenal de Palma, El Arenal Llucmajor Can Picafort, Palmanova and Manacor. They also investigated a web site which offered the items for sale within the Spanish mainland.

Representatives of the various companies and brands being defrauded accompanied the officers in order to confirm that goods seized were indeed fakes and an initial estimate of the market value of the garments seized exceeds €350,000.

According to the authorities, this operation was important for two reasons as not only did it shut down factories producing these fake goods, but also identified a number of retail outlets which offered the garments for sale fraudulently.