• Eleven people arrested as alleged perpetrators of a crime against industrial property

• Inspections have been carried out on nine vans in which the sellers travelled to the town of Ponferrada, where the counterfeit products were sold and distributed.

• The initial valuation of the seized items exceeds one million euros

February 13, 2025.- Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency in a joint operation with agents from the National Police Station of Ponferrada and the Municipal Police of this same town, have deployed on the morning of last Wednesday in the Ponferrada market a previously planned operation that has culminated in the arrest of eleven people, of Spanish nationality, as alleged perpetrators of a crime against industrial property.

In the context of investigations into crimes against industrial property and smuggling, various inspections and controls have been carried out for months at different textile stalls that were set up in the market, and sometimes operated in other towns near Ponferrada, following the receipt of complaints from several companies representing well-known clothing brands. These complaints revealed the existence of several street stalls selling counterfeit clothing, shoes and handbags.

The entire operation of Operation Gemini followed the protocol and guidelines established by the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service in order to reliably verify whether the activity being carried out consisted of the marketing of counterfeit products.

Eleven people arrested and 7,000 counterfeit products seized

Early on Wednesday morning, the final phase of the "Gemini" operation was carried out in a coordinated manner, in a deployment in which Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency, agents from the National Police and the Municipal Police participated. Eleven people have been arrested and more than 7,000 items of clothing, shoes and handbags from various prestigious brands have been seized during the searches. These were examined by experts and representatives of the various brands, confirming that they were fake from the start.

Nine vans carrying the confiscated items were also seized. The garments arrived in Spain from Portugal, where street vendors went to buy the merchandise to later sell it in markets in Ponferrada and in markets and flea markets in other towns.

The detainees have been transferred to the National Police headquarters where, after hearing their statements, they have been released and summoned to appear before the judicial authority when summoned for that purpose.

The proceedings, once completed with all the instructions up to now, have been sent to the on-call Court of Instruction in Ponferrada.