(ANSA) – ANCONA, 09 APR – With an anti-counterfeiting operation called “Fake shopping”, the Compagnia della Guardia di Finanza of Jesi (Ancona) has dismantled a network of sales of luxury clothing and accessories, counterfeit products that were marketed by subjects who used the social Instagram. Seven people reported for the crime of selling industrial products with misleading signs, 1,400 customers sanctioned and seizures of products with fake logos that reproduced goods of the most famous brands, included in the ‘menu’ offered, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Christian Dior , Hermes, Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Stella McCartney, Christian Louboutin, Yves Saint Laurent. To try to circumvent the controls of the authorities, in a first phase dedicated links were inserted on the social platform that advertised products similar to those of the big names but without brand and without indication of the price.
Potential customers, after viewing unbranded products on Instagram channels, had contacts with sellers via Instagram and Whatsapp messaging, during which the true nature of the counterfeit products and prices far below the originals were revealed. After choosing the product, the customer proceeded with the advance payment, mainly by crediting the Postepay cards (top-up or bank transfer); then delivery by express courier with shipping from the Far East. The investigations, coordinated by the Ancona prosecutor’s office, initially made it possible to identify a house in the Municipality of Cupramontana (Ancona), where a 27-year-old, not employed and living with her parents, had formed the basis of her illegal activities: a smartphone was seized, two hard drives containing thousands of files relating to illicit sales and an agenda with order data. Also reconstructed the position of other members of the sales network in other Municipalities also located outside the province of Ancona (Macerata, Palermo and Barletta-Andria-Trani): these people were appointed to maintain contacts with the suppliers of the products, located in China , Country from which the shipments of the goods delivered to the buyer’s home departed. (HANDLE).
Source: Ansa
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