Counterfeit bag ring busted by feds

NEW YORK – Federal officials busted a multimillion-dollar leather handbag counterfeiting operation and arrested 14 people Thursday.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department said its agents seized $24 million in counterfeit handbags, $174,000 in cash and 11 bank accounts containing an unknown amount of money.

The department’s probe, started in April 2003, focused on a counterfeiting ring importing merchandise from China and distributing it to street vendors.

“The people arrested … are not people on the street selling these bags. They are further up in the food chain,” said Martin Ficke, special agent in charge for New York’s immigration and customs enforcement.

Six search warrants were served on the suspects, who lived throughout the city. Officials said they imported weekly about two containers, holding on average between 25,000 and 40,000 items.

The ring realized profits ranging from $2 million to $4 million from each container, Ficke said.

The merchandise seized consisted of phony Prada, Louis Vuitton and Coach bags that were manufactured in China. The items entered the port of Newark, N.J.

Those arrested will be charged with counterfeit trafficking and money laundering, Ficke said.