The Sofia police have uncovered a channel for trading in clothes illegally marked with protected trademarks. As part of the police work, numerous operational and search operations were carried out to document the criminal activity. The investigators found that the trade was carried out by two foreign citizens, one of whom owns a warehouse in the area of Zhenski Pazar. Data was also collected that the illegally branded goods were sent through courier companies to end customers in EU countries.
Yesterday, law enforcement officers identified and detained one of the participants in the scheme - a 40-year-old man with criminal records for theft - near the office of a large courier company. In a van driven by him, a large number of clothes from protected global brands, prepared for shipment, were found. His accomplice - a 23-year-old man - was detained in the warehouse. There, police teams discovered and seized more than 600 illegally branded clothes, unbranded knitwear, as well as food products, all without documents of origin.
The warehouse has been sealed, the Bulgarian Anti-Fraud Office is to be notified to take action within its jurisdiction. Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated in the case for a crime under Art. 172b of the Criminal Code. A report of the materials is pending at the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office.