Delhi: Counterfeit luxury goods racket busted, one held

New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) A man was arrested for allegedly running a counterfeit racket involving the manufacturing and sale of fake luxury goods, officials said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Mohit Sachdeva (35), was apprehended on Saturday after a raid at his shop in Shalimar Bagh.

A large cache of duplicate branded goods was recovered from the shop, including 13 t-shirts, 12 pairs of sunglasses, 14 shirts, three pairs of jeans, two wristwatches, five pairs of footwear, four pairs of socks, three caps, three pairs of pants, and a belt. Several empty boxes and fake brand tags were also seized, the police stated. Sachdeva, a resident of Shalimar Bagh, allegedly portrayed himself as an authorised distributor of the brands and sold counterfeit clothing, footwear, and accessories in the market as original products by pasting logos of international luxury brands, the police mentioned further.

He was booked under Sections of the Copyright Act and the Trade Marks Act, they added.

A senior police officer informed that a case was registered based on the complaint of Nripendra Kashyap, a Delhi resident, who alleged that items bearing fake labels were being manufactured and sold in the local market.

"Considering the financial losses to the companies, a team collected information and carried out a raid after verifying the tip-off," the officer added.

During interrogation, Sachdeva allegedly revealed that he had set up an illegal unit to produce counterfeit clothing and accessories. These items were then branded with fake labels before being sold, the police said.

The officer further noted that Sachdeva was running the operation for profit by duping unsuspecting customers into believing that they were buying original branded merchandise.

An investigation is underway to ascertain the supply chain, including the source of fake labels, raw materials, and the persons involved in the racket. PTI BM ANM ANM MPL MPL