Department of Special Investigations officers raided five South Pattaya warehouses, seizing stockpiles of counterfeit goods with an estimated market value of 50 million baht.
DSI Deputy Director Lt. Col. Jitreepol Thongkhamwan announced the sweep, which included the arrest of five warehouse employees, March 1. The unmarked warehouses were found near hotels and storefronts near Pattaya Bay Walk.
Police lay out for display some of the goods confiscated in what they are billing as the largest ever haul of counterfeit goods on the Eastern Seaboard.
Jitreepol said goods seized, which included knock-off Chanel, Gucci, Cartier and Louis Vutton jewelry, bags, clothing and sunglasses, cost about 15 million baht and could be sold for more than three times that. The haul was the largest-ever in the Eastern Seaboard, he said.
Five unnamed suspects were charged with violating copyright and trademark laws, which could earn them up to four years in prison and 400,000 baht in fines. However, all were temporarily released as police considered them low-level employees and are pursuing the true owners of the bogus merchandise.
