More than 4 million dollars in merchandise with allegedly counterfeit brands were seized during the development of Operation Maverick, becoming the largest seizure investigated in Panama by the National Police and the Public Ministry through the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ). , in a commercial warehouse located in the village of Betania.
The investigations for the alleged crime against Intellectual and Industrial Property began in January 2022, when several shops were raided in the capital city, where the articles were sold as originals. This led to locating the distributor who maintained commercial work in said warehouse in Betania.
Last Tuesday, May 9, the Superior Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Crimes Against Intellectual Property and the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ) carried out a search of the two-story warehouse, finding shelves full of boxes containing all kinds of merchandise, including : Clothing, footwear, telephone accessories and others.
The search procedure at the warehouse required five continuous days of verification, counting, and removal of the 326,023 items that were seized from this warehouse. Among the brands sold are Nike, Crocs, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Jordan, Adidas, New Balance, Puma, Converse, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour, Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Sony PS3.
Investigations into this case are still ongoing since a Panamanian citizen is under investigation under the orders of the Public Ministry.