Stolen Nike, Ted Baker goods worth €18,000 seized by gardaí

Clothes found in Tipperary house raid, gardaí say

Counterfeit goods featuring several major clothing labels such as Nike and Ted Baker have been seized by gardaí.

Estimated to be worth about €18,000, they also include bogus North Face and Hugo Boss products.

In a statement on Friday, gardaí said the items were confiscated following a raid on a house in Carrick On Suir, Co Tipperary on Thursday.

"At approximately 6pm, detectives from the Clonmel District executed a search warrant at a house in Mountain View, " it said.

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“During the course of the search, gardaí seized suspected counterfeit footwear, clothing, handbags and cosmetics.”

No arrests have been made but gardaí say they are following a definite line of enquiry. Prosecutions for suspected counterfeit goods are taken under Section 92 of the Trademarks Act 1996.

Earlier this year, an EU report found the counterfeiting and piracy industry has resulted in estimated annual sales losses of more than €900 million in Ireland.

In the clothing, footwear and accessories sector, the report estimated Irish losses of about €323 million or 9.2 per cent of sales. On an EU-wide basis, the sales losses were more than €28 billion.

Across Europe about €60 billion a year is lost to such blackmarket activity overall, the equivalent of 7.4 per cent of all sales across 11 studied categories.

The EUIPO 2019 Status Report on IPR Infringement focused on clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and personal care; sports goods; toys and games; jewellery and watches; handbags and luggage; recorded music; spirits and wine; pharmaceuticals; pesticides; and smart phones.

On Friday, gardaí warned that apart from the illegality of the materials, counterfeit goods are sub-standard products with potential health and safety risks, particularly concerning whether or not they are flame retardant.

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard is a reporter with The Irish Times