OCSO: $361,110 in counterfeit goods seized in separate sweep

A day after the City of Orangeburg’s Department of Public Safety announced it seized more than $1 million worth of counterfeit merchandise, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office said it has confiscated $361,110 worth of goods.

The seized property appears to be copies of designer merchandise bearing names of famous designers — Gucci, Prada, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Izod, Air Jordan, Nike. The merchandise included shoes, purses, umbrellas, hats, shirts and scarves.

“We had to put a stop to this,” OCSO Capt. Rene Williams said. “Just think of the people who bought these things thinking they had the real thing. For instance, the tennis shoes, they buy them for about $10 a pair and sell them for about $55. That’s a big markup. It’s just unfair and it’s a crime.”

The Sheriff’s Office and ODPS, with the help of federal officials, raided establishments in separate operations Thursday that were suspected of selling counterfeit goods.

Three people were arrested in the Sheriff’s Office’s seizure on charges ranging from possessing counterfeit merchandise to trafficking it. ODPS also arrested three shop employees on Thursday on charges of selling counterfeit merchandise.

Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said, “Field agents from the U.S. Customs Service joined forces with the Orangeburg County investigators in a concentrated enforcement effort to stop the illegal practice of trafficking in counterfeit merchandise in our community.”

Working in unison, enforcement teams simultaneously converged on several locations that were under investigation and believed to be in violation.

They discovered and seized merchandise investigators estimate to have a value of $361,110. The value is based on what the products would sell for if they were genuine.

“This investigation has been going on for several months and is ongoing,” Capt. Williams said. “Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office gave U.S. Customs our full cooperation and will continue to do so. As this investigation proceeds, we will continue to crack down in violators. We are investigating all possibilities, especially the county’s flea markets.”

Capt. Williams said the counterfeit merchandise is brought into the country through black market outlets.

“There are black market warehouses that ship these things out to people every day,” he said. “We will continue to be vigilant and build cases against those who are involved in trafficking this merchandise. If they participate in this industry, they will get caught and they will be prosecuted. We get calls from the Customs Service all the time. They are concerned about these operations because this is a problem, not only in Orangeburg County, but all over the country.”

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