MetroMart-AJC

 

In case you live in the Atlanta area and shop at Metro Mart USA on Metropolitan Pkwy, that Gucci bag you are carrying right now might be a knock-off.  For those of you who don’t know what a “knock-off” is, it is a fabricated version of a designer item that is manufactured to look almost exactly like the original one.  From the leather to the labeling, even the experts have a hard time distinguishing a real from a fake.  Several fashion houses like Louis Vutton and Gucci have tried to prevent the blackmarket sales from occurring. But with an large-scale operation such as counterfeiting, it is very difficult to catch the criminals who are profiting off of these items.

 

Recently, a total of eight vendors were arrested in Atlanta for selling counterfeit designer merchandise. The ring of seven Africans and one Asian female is suspected of storing over $2.4 million in fake designer items with the intent to sale. As reported by Cynthia Dubose, for AJC.com, the investigation began when someone snitched that they were selling fake goods and marijuana out of their flea market booths. On May 31, the APD executed search warrants and seized $2, 453,737 in fake goods, four pounds of weed, two handguns, and $3,634 in cash.  The merchandise seized included Coach, Gucci, Louis Vutton, and Michael Kors purses, True Religion jeans, Ralph Lauren shirts, and Nike shoes.

 

Each of the eight criminals face felony counterfeit trade charges.  All eight were released on a $3000 to $5000 bond on Sunday.

 

 

Watch the video:

 

 

 

What’s interesting is that, this has been going on for years with the police knowing.  Apparently, someone in Metro Mart probably hated that business was booming for them and decided to snitch. SMH…