At least 16 store owners are suspected of selling counterfeit goods, including counterfeit Apple products and e-cigarettes. That led to the raid and emergency search today, March 1, 2023.
With a raid on a large Asian trade area in Berlin-Lichtenberg, Berlin police took action against those suspected of trafficking in counterfeit and similar products. A police spokesman said police officers and customs officers searched several shops in several corridors of the vast Dong Xuan Shopping Center complex on Herzbergstrasse on Wednesday morning.
Counterfeit electronic products, mainly from Apple, such as smartphones, tablets, headphones, watches and accessories are said to have been sold in stores. Counterfeit e-cigarettes are also said to have been found.
The police said the purpose of the search was to find and confiscate fake goods. At least 16 business owners are suspected of selling counterfeit goods in large quantities here. As a result, there are several investigations against a range of shop owners of different nationalities, police said.
Police warn to be careful with branded products but sold at very cheap prices here.
Reportedly, the operator of this commercial center is not the subject of the investigation. A total of 240 police, prosecutors and customs officers have been on duty since around 10:30 am.
In this context, the police warn against buying cheap branded products here. A particularly low price may indicate a crime to counterfeit. The corresponding products may also be of inferior quality compared to the original.
Dong Xuan Shopping Center has about 350 stores, including many large buildings, each row of corridors in this area has dozens of stores. Clothing, toys, electronics, jewelry, decorations and home furnishings are mostly for sale. There are also nail salons, beauty salons, hair salons, massage parlors, snack bars and restaurants.
Several times there have been raids against German-Vietnamese smuggling gangs. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has described Berlin as a “transit point” for Vietnamese traffickers in Western Europe and specifically named this Asian shopping mall.
Thu Phuong – Thoibao.de (According to German daily newspaper)
