(NewsNation) — New York City‘s counterfeit market took a big hit this week after federal agents seized more than a billion dollars in knockoff couture, calling it the largest-ever counterfeit seizure in American history.
Federal investigators recovered boxes of counterfeit bags, clothes, shoes and other accessories stacked wall to wall. Worth more than a billion dollars, investigators seized 219,000 counterfeit items.
Police said two men used a Manhattan storage facility as their own outlet mall to sell the phony items.
Adaman Sow and Addulah Jalloh have been accused of running the operation between January and October of this year. Now, they’re charged with trafficking the false goods.
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Fashion industry followers say more than $50 billion a year is lost to counterfeiting. About 80% of the world’s counterfeit products come from China, according to a report from Reuters.
“The trafficking of counterfeit goods is anything but a victimless crime because it harms legitimate businesses, governments and consumers. Today’s indictments show how seriously the NYPD and our federal partners take this offense,” New York City’s Police Commissioner Edward Caban said. “We will continue to work hard to hold accountable anyone who seeks to benefit by selling such items on the black market.”
The two suspects arrested and charged with running the operation face the possibility of up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Meanwhile, the NYPD says it will continue making surprise inspections across the city, making sure vendors on the street have a permit to sell items legally.
