Counterfeiting: nearly 40,000 caps, clothes and bags destroyed in Lons-le-Saunier, more than a year after being seized
Some 40,000 counterfeit items, mostly caps, were destroyed by the Besançon regional customs department in Lons-le-Saunier (Jura), Wednesday, December 15. These products had been seized in June 2020.
"No counterfeiting under the trees!" This is how the press invitation from the Regional Customs Department of Besançon began, which proceeded, on Wednesday December 12, to the destruction of some 40,000 counterfeit items, seized on June 12, 2020 on the A36, on the area du Jura, not far from Lons-le-Saunier.
It is also in Lons-le-Saunier, at the incineration plant, that the destruction of caps and other clothing, tracksuits and leather goods took place. “More or less luxury pieces,” says Yasmina Pomathios, head of the economic action center of the Besançon regional customs directorate. Louis Vuitton, Nike, Adidas, Gucci, Armani, Mercedes...
So many brands that have had to be consulted since the events that occurred a year and a half earlier. The time to carry out checks, in particular to determine if the parts in question are indeed fake. "These are quite long procedures, we had to wait for the return of each of the brands", continues Ms. Pomathios.
On June 12, 2020, a truck, registered in Poland, brought back goods from China via the Silk Road to Spain, according to the drivers interviewed after being arrested. "These are real sectors of the Asian conglomerate, adds Yasmina Pomathios. The drivers were aware of having loaded all of this." The drivers were not tried.
Three major seizures in 2020
The regional customs directorate wanted to "raise public awareness during this holiday season" and "attract attention". For Yasmina Pomathios, the risk of counterfeiting is threefold: "Economic first, because of counterfeiting, 38,000 jobs are lost in France." Also at the level of the protection of European standards. "These standards are not respected, often the materials are not the right ones."
Finally, there is a “societal” risk: “What are the production and working conditions? Are labor laws respected? Are children working?” she asks.
The customs department is proud of three major seizures in 2020: in addition to this, nearly 250,000 counterfeit toys and school items were seized from trucks coming from Poland on the A36 in August 2020. A last significant capture also took place in December 2020 also not far from Lons-le-Saunier, of some 78,000 items of clothing from Turkey.
The significant seizures made this year will be revealed in the coming months.
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