The Central Specialized and Violent Crime Unit (UDEV) of the National Police dismantled a criminal organization that made millions through the importation and door-to-door sales of tons and tons of counterfeit products, mainly textiles. Five people were investigated, all … from Morocco, two of whom have already been arrested. The economic loss is enormous and the corresponding asset investigation is ongoing, as there is evidence of money laundering. 130,000 properties were seized.
As ABC learned, Operation Karcuma (the equivalent of Turkish Black Friday) began in January 2024, following the investigation into certain shipments of equipment arriving at a logistics company in eastern Madrid. Then, these agents from the General Commission of the Judicial Police seized around 100 kilos of fake clothing. But the identities of the people sending the mail were also fake, making tracking them complicated.
They managed to give names and first names to two subjects of the conspiracy and then to three others. The matter was taken to court and little by little they began to unravel the thread. With a history of similar events, they settled in Villaverde, where they had an apartment that they also used as a warehouse, and a house in Parla, from which they also sold their products. They used word of mouth but also Instagram profiles, Facebook groups and Telegram accounts, which they migrated to others according to their convenience. They even had electronic card collectors in homes for payments.
Officials conducted surveillance around these points and checked how shoppers and buyers with bags full of clothes entered and exited. From sports t-shirts to complete kits, including perfumes, sneakers and almost 800 coats. Counterfeit brands (yes) like Adidas, Nike, Puma, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermès, Hugo Boss, Armani, Goyard… The two main suspects were traveling abroad to collect the merchandise. One did it in China and the other in Turkey: from there they brought products, showed them to their potential customers and then placed massive orders and also by parcel. The goods first arrived in a European city and, by land, arrived in Madrid. These networks are opting less and less for full shipping containers, because if one of these cargoes is intercepted upon arrival at the port, they would lose everything. The material was stored in a warehouse in the municipality of Toledo, Chozas de Canales. It was intended mainly for Black Friday, Christmas and next winter’s sales.
There are 15 bank accounts of the criminal organization that have been blocked and are subject to a real estate investigation
In just two years, they moved more than 2 million euros, indicate sources in the file, who specify that the quality of the clothes varied depending on their level of counterfeiting; Some were more successful than others. The price at which they were sold was the usual price for this type of illegal trade, much lower than the real price of authentic pieces. Of this total, the 21 tonnes seized during the five searches carried out (one in Parla, three in Madrid and the last in Toledo) are estimated at more than 2.8 million.
The National Police of UDEV Central, during one of the searches
On December 2, the day of the operation, four trailers had to be used to transport the entire cache to the official offices. The movements of fifteen blocked checking accounts are the subject of an investigation.
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