The term fashion police took on a serious tone on Tuesday when the RCMP seized a significant quantity of counterfeit clothes and fashion accessories from a home and vehicle in Dollard des Ormeaux and a warehouse in Pointe Claire.
Police seized a large quantity of clothing articles, handbags, jewelry, shoes, sunglasses and other accessories bearing popular name brands, such as Chanel and Prada.
"These were all big names that usually cost a lot of money," said Const. Josée Thomas, the lead investigator in the case.
The counterfeit goods were allegedly destined for flea markets located in the greater Montreal area.
Thomas said since so much merchandise was seized she can only estimate its street value by stating it is in the several thousands of dollars.
A Dollard man in his 40s was arrested in connection with this case but has yet to appear in court. He could be liable to charges of fraud under the Criminal Code and Copyright Act and face a maximum fine of $1 million and imprisonment of up to five years if convicted.
The investigation started in May. The search, which initiated at flea markets, was conducted by the investigators of the Central St. Lawrence Valley, Laurentides-Lanaudière-Outaouais and Montérégie RCMP detachments.
"It was a lengthy investigation," said Thomas, adding said she still has to go through months of evidence before submitting the case to prosecutors. Investigators are also looking into possible accomplices.
Although the RCMP was not working on a tip in this case, they invite the public to confidentially report any information on suspicious activity by calling 450-377-3223 or Info-Crime Québec at 1-800-711-1800.
Counterfeit Clothes and Fashion Accessories Seized by the RCMP
Montréal, October 9, 2008 - Last Tuesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police seized a significant quantity of counterfeit clothes and fashion accessories as a result of a search conducted by the investigators of the Central St. Lawrence Valley, Laurentides-Lanaudière-Outaouais and Montérégie detachments. One suspect was arrested in connection with this case. The offender could be liable to charges of fraud under the Criminal Code and Copyright Act and face a maximum fine one million dollars and imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
The search was made inside a residence, a vehicle and a warehouse owned by the suspect in Montréal's west end.
Numerous Items Seized
The police officers seized a large quantity of clothing articles, handbags, jewellery, shoes, sunglasses and other accessories bearing popular name brands. The suspect sold the counterfeit goods in flea markets located in the greater Montréal area. The total value of the seized items is estimated at several thousands of dollars.
Fashionable bust
Fashionable bust
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- Published on October 9th, 2008
- Published on Febuary 6th, 2010
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Carter Haydu
Times-Herald
RCMP arrest Dollard man
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Comments
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- Dan Johansson
- - February 8th, 2010 at 11:15:00
Counterfeited goods are often so good that its hard to tell the difference. NIKE can not tell the difference between a original shoe from a fake one without special technology. ordinary people can not tell the difference. Goods travel around the world. Goods ends up any where. Company go broke etc. If people end upp with good that maybe/probably are counterfeited how can they tell? People deal with goods every day. They need something to be able to tell the difference in a easy way. They can not be sued just because they maybe know. Not sure etc. They must know without any daught.
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- Tiberius
- - February 8th, 2010 at 11:14:55
Governments, international policymakers and corporate owners wage constant war against global counterfeiting. However, there are those with a clear interest in promoting this illegal trade, including the counterfeiters themselves and many consumers. Resistance on the supply side alone is inadequate to control or even curb the counterfeit trade. The demand side of the market, composed of consumers, must also be addressed. Most initiatives to thwart counterfeiting fail because consumer attitudes and behaviors are factored inadequately, if at all, into the analysis. This is surprising, given consumers’ expectation that it is up to their governments to protect them against dangers from counterfeit medicines, car parts, airplane components and other potentially fatal products. Paradoxically, these same consumers defend their right to choose between expensive, genuine brand-name products and much cheaper but inferior counterfeits. Consumers believe that they can recognize counterfeit products and view these as a source of enjoyment, especially in the case of fashion items which are knowingly bought at a lower price regardless of quality. These attitudes are at odds with legal standards, moral values, publicly stated corporate codes of conduct and even the consumers’ own well-being. Even if consumers suspect potentially negative consequences, their desire to be fashionable and to keep up with friends and peers lead them to ignore these. If such attitudes are not factored into the analysis of consumer involvement in the counterfeit market, then initiatives to dissuade consumers from these purchases will remain ineffective. Cynical consumer accomplices, who knowingly buy highly deceptive fake designer handbags, jewelry, apparel, etc. for the simple purpose of impressing others and do not suffer any ill effects, are called Fashionistas and Opportunists. Buyers of counterfeit goods promote illegal trade through their willingness to perpetuate demand for counterfeit products and services. Some of these consumers, notably young people, are naïve: they enjoy hunting for good deals and believe that they can easily tell the difference between legitimate and illegitimate goods, regarding counterfeit fashion goods as harmless fun. They trust their government to take steps to protect them from the invisible dangers of illegitimate counterfeit products, all the while believing that they themselves do little harm by buying counterfeit fashion goods. Other consumer accomplices, however, are cynical in their complicity. They freely admit to having bought counterfeit goods knowingly; they see no moral wrong and do not mind colluding with counterfeiters in order to get a good deal. It is not surprising, then, that efforts by governments, international agencies and companies to curb counterfeiting have not worked: global demand is too strong and persistent. From the counterfeit producers’ point of view, non-deceptive products offer only low levels of sales and profits, because consumers easily perceive the poor quality and make only opportunistic one-time purchases. Consequently, counterfeiters only operate in this entry-level type of business for a short period of time. In contrast, deceptive high-quality counterfeits offer high profit potential to counterfeiters. Thus, the higher the degree of deceptiveness, the greater the products’ perceived market value and the greater the profit potential for counterfeiters. Success in fighting counterfeits requires targeted actions involving all stakeholders on both the supply and the demand sides of the market as well as a clear-sighted evaluation of respective costs, benefits and trade-offs. Hence consumers are at the center of a complex global market in which several parties pursue their own interests, each involving conflicting cost-benefit analyses.
