A hundred arrested in the State for trafficking fake World Cup t-shirts

Barcelona66,000 t-shirts would practically fill the stadium where the World Cup final will be played on July 19 in New Jersey. But these 66,000 t-shirts are the fake World Cup kits that the National Police have seized in an investigation affecting various points in Spain, including Barcelona and Girona. They are seven tons of fake clothing that have led to the arrest of up to 95 people.

The action is part of an operation against sports piracy that has coincided with the celebration of the World Cup. In fact, whenever there are events of this kind, there is an exponential increase in the trafficking of counterfeit products. Police sources indicate that the sales value of these products on the illicit market exceeds 2 million euros, and that the economic damage to the holders of industrial property rights for these components amounts to 7 million. Among the recovered products are football jerseys of clubs, but especially of national teams.

The seized items imitated designs, emblems, and distinctive elements of different national teams and presented a much lower quality than the original products. They were intended for illicit commercialization through street markets, illegal street vending, e-commerce platforms, and social networks. And Barcelona and Girona were two of the epicenters of these networks: 17,000 fake t-shirts have been located there. Experts in the subject explain that these products often arrive through ports, inside shipping containers coming from Asian countries. Arrival usually occurs a few months before the start of the event. This investigation, which has the support of Europol, began in April.

Operation against street vending

In parallel, this Wednesday morning the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Guardia Civil, and the National Police have launched an operation against the structures that supply counterfeit products to the so-called top manta. The action began early and entries have been made in several municipalities in the Camp de Tarragona. One of the towns where the operation is being deployed is Salou. In this regard, Cambrils is considered one of the hottest spots for street vending on the Costa Daurada.

For a few years now, the police have opted to attack the structures that supply the products to try to combat illegal street vending. Normally, these operations take place before summer, the period with the most activity for top manta.