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Europol has coordinated its first EU-wide operation against the illegal trade in counterfeit clothing, shoes and accessories from March to December 2022. A total of 17 countries participated in Operation Fakestar. The operation was led by the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) and supported by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in collaboration with the Greek Police (Ελληνική Αστυνομία).
During the operation, national authorities inspected commercial and industrial areas, flea markets, tourist sites, warehouses, shops and other similar places where counterfeit goods could be sold. Authorities also conducted operational activities at ports, pop-up shops and small e-commerce parcel delivery companies.
OPERATION FAKE STAR OVERVIEW
1 956 607 seized counterfeit clothing, shoes and apparel.
The estimated value of the counterfeit goods seized is approximately EUR 87 million.
258 trademarks have been infringed.
3 921 tests performed. 55,555 646 lawsuits have been initiated.
1 311 administrative lawsuits have been initiated.
378 arrested.
Sports and Luxury Goods Top List of Counterfeit Goods Seized Results of the
operation reported very significant seizures of sports and luxury goods. Millions of counterfeit goods intended for sale on the European market were seized during the operation. The investigation confirmed suspicions that criminals are using social networks to promote counterfeit goods. Various merchants have been observed posting images of available counterfeit goods, mostly clothing and shoes, on their social media pages and profiles.
However, this is not a new trend. The trade in counterfeit goods on the Internet has increased significantly in recent years. In recent years, the market share of e-commerce platforms has increased, and so has the promotion of counterfeit goods on social media platforms. On the one hand, operational results show that traditional offline marketplaces are still an important reality, worthy of law enforcement attention. Most of the counterfeit goods seized came from outside Europe, with main origins being China, Hong Kong, Turkey and Vietnam. As far as transport is concerned, counterfeit goods entered the EU by land or sea. In addition to trading in counterfeit goods, authorities also found other criminal activity by the identified criminal networks.
Close cooperation to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting
Europol facilitated information exchange and provided operational coordination and analytical support. During the several days of operation, Europol dispatched analysts to enable real-time information sharing, cross-checking business information against Europol's database to provide clues to investigators on the ground.
Europol's Intellectual Property Crime Coalition (IPC3), which supported the investigation, is a project co-funded with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) to combat intellectual property crime. In February 2020, EUIPO also held a kick-off meeting at its headquarters in Alicante, Spain.
Participating States:
EU Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain.
Third Countries: Serbia, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
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