2 Arrested as Police Seize $1 Billion Worth of Counterfeit Luxury Items in New York

Police tape secures a crime scene in Brooklyn on Oct. 12, 2019. Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

Two men have been arrested and charged after law enforcement officials seized counterfeit bags, clothes, shoes, and other luxury products worth billions of dollars in New York in what they described as the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in U.S. history.

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Ivan J. Arvelo, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Edward A. Caban, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the seizure on Nov. 15.

Adama Sow, 38, of Queens, and Abdulai Jalloh, 48, of New York, who is also known as Troy Banks, are each charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods, according to officials.

Prosecutors allege in court documents that the pair “knowingly and intentionally trafficked and attempted to traffic in goods and services, and knowingly used counterfeit marks on and in connection with such goods and services.”

They face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

According to prosecutors, from around January of this year up until October, Mr. Sow and Mr. Jalloh ran large-scale counterfeit goods trafficking operations out of a storage facility located in Manhattan.

Mr. Jalloh, according to prosecutors, also trafficked the counterfeit goods out of an offsite location in Manhattan.

A police search of the storage facility run by the two in Manhattan resulted in the seizure of over 83,000 counterfeit items with a total estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of over $502 million, officials said.

A separate search of the other storage facility at the offsite location in Manhattan led to police seizing over 50,000 counterfeit items with a total estimated MSRP of over $237 million, officials said.

In total, police seized approximately 219,000 counterfeit bags, clothes, shoes, and other luxury products, they said.

The knock-off items are worth more than $1 billion, prosecutors said, although officials noted the street value of the items would be significantly lower.

Record-Breaking Seizure

Photographs released by prosecutors showed shelves and shelves stacked with counterfeit designer bags and wallets. In one photo, fake designer shirts and scarves could be seen hanging from hooks on the ceiling.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams called the police discovery of the massive amounts of knock-off designer goods “the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in U.S. history.”

“This is a testament to the commitment of this Office and its law enforcement partners to combat counterfeit trafficking in New York City,” Attorney Williams said.

“Today’s groundbreaking announcement underscores the unwavering commitment of HSI New York in the fight against intellectual property theft and serves as a testament to the dedication of our team and partner agencies, who have tirelessly pursued justice, culminating in the largest-ever seizure of this kind,” HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo said.

“I extend my gratitude to all those involved for their relentless efforts and late nights dedicated to upholding the law,” Mr. Arvelo added.

The latest seizure of counterfeit goods follows NYPD’s seizure of $35 million worth of counterfeit goods in Lower Manhattan in September after receiving numerous complaints from the community that fake items were being sold on the streets.

A total of 18 individuals were arrested in connection with the sale of fake luxury items, and most were charged with trademark counterfeiting, police told the New York Post.

Police said that the illegal street sales had been taking pace “in plain sight for years” and vowed to crack down on such sales in broad daylight going forward, including via renewed police presence in the Lower Manhattan area.