FRANCE: Customs officers seize more counterfeit sportswear

25 June 2007


French customs officers have seized more counterfeit leading-brand sportswear, uncovering 27,000 pairs of fake Adidas socks during an inspection of a Portuguese-registered lorry on the A10 motorway, near Poitiers.
The socks, presented in 9,000 packs of three, were bound for the UK. The driver of the vehicle was held pending questioning by the prosecutor's office in Poitiers before being released. The truck carrying the socks was impounded.
Representatives of Adidas confirmed the counterfeit nature of the goods which had a market value estimated at EUR135,000 (US$181,671).
The fake haul is the second concerning Adidas brand socks this year. In March, 5,040 packs of three worth EUR75,600 were seized, in the same in the same area and by the same customs patrol.
"As the recent finds demonstrate, leading brand sportswear - garments and footwear and socks - has become the predilection of the counterfeiters and very often the latest models are copied," a French Customs official told just-style.
Earlier this month French Customs uncovered more than 9,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike Shox sports shoes.
This followed the seizure of 15,000 items of Nike, Lacoste and Dolce & Gabbana fake brand sportswear in May and 15,000 pairs of fake Nike brand sports shoes in April. Earlier in the year, France's duty men intercepted a cargo of around 16,000 pairs of fake Nike and Adidas sports shoes.


By Stuart Todd.