Gaston County Police grabbed 96,108 suspected knockoff products from a Stanley house on June 25. The haul was worth about $7,845,817 if sold in stores. Arrest warrants went out for Adela Ortiz-Portillo and Ever Roberto Martinez-Olivia, who each got hit with two counts of criminal use of a counterfeit trademark plus one count of felony conspiracy.
According to the Queen City News, officers started digging into this case on June 11. A tip came in that fake merchandise was getting sold from the house. Two weeks passed before authorities executed a search warrant.
The bust brought together several agencies. Homeland Security Investigations pitched in. So did the North Carolina Secretary of State’s office and Blazer Investigations. Federal agencies often join these cases when large quantities of suspected fakes get discovered because they can trace international supply chains and coordinate enforcement across state borders…