A very nice case for the gendarmes of the Moselle: they seized 18,000 counterfeit perfume bottlesin the region of Sarralbe, and put a stop to a network of traffickers who operated in Moselle, Meurthe-et-Moselle and Alsacewith goods produced in Poland.
Seven suspects were arrested and placed under judicial control. They will be summoned next September before the Sarreguemines court. The traffic represents 180,000 euros of “profit” for the smugglers, a sum to be multiplied by four, i.e. 700,000 euros, for luxury brands who have had their identities stolen.
Classified ad on Facebook
It all started a little over a year ago, when a gendarme from the Sarralbe brigade spotted an ad on the Facebook Marketplace : big brand perfume bottles, only 10 euros each. This is a small retailer, who had embarked on this illegal traffic to make ends meet.
The investigators dig, and eventually understand the mechanics. Resellers were supplied by semi-wholesalers, themselves supplied by a larger wholesaler who manufacture the bottles and the perfume in Poland. Upon receipt of the goods, all that remained was to put the caps on the bottles, and stick the labels.
– Moselle Gendarmerie
Foreign accounts
If the small dealers obtained enough to put butter in the spinach, the suspects at the top of the scale, them, lived only from this traffic. A portion of the sums accumulated was even put safe in foreign accounts, or converted into cryptocurrency. The gendarmes estimate that this network had been active for at least three years.
A total of seven people were arrested by investigators, but other accomplices may still be active. Be careful, therefore, in front of the enticing classified ads…