Secret Warehouse Opened, 6,000 Counterfeits Come Tumbling Out... "Mom Was the Ringleader, Son Laundered Money"

Roles divided from production in China to sales in South Korea
6,093 counterfeit goods worth 35.5 billion won stored in warehouses
Sold at bargain prices online and in Dongdaemun and Myeongdong

A criminal group that distributed counterfeit foreign luxury goods worth tens of billions of won, imported from China, in South Korea has been referred to prosecutors. The group was found to have operated like a “corporate organization,” dividing up roles among mothers, sons and acquaintances to evade detection.

Counterfeit luxury bags and wallets seized and displayed by Seoul Seongbuk Police Station. On the 29th, police arrested a group, including the alleged sales ringleader, identified only as A, on suspicion of mobilizing family members and acquaintances to distribute counterfeit luxury goods worth around 40 billion won in South Korea, and referred them to prosecutors. Seoul Seongbuk Police Station

Seoul Seongbuk Police Station said on the 29th that it had arrested and referred to prosecutors a woman in her 40s, identified as A, who allegedly led the group’s domestic sales operation. She is accused of violating the Trademark Act, the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment, and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

Ten other members took part in the crimes, each handling a different role, including sales, logistics and money laundering. They were referred to prosecutors without detention the same day on suspicion of violating the Trademark Act and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

Police have obtained an arrest warrant for one Chinese supplier who fled overseas, placed the supplier on a wanted list and are pursuing the case.

A and the other suspects are accused of importing counterfeit bags, wallets and other goods bearing the names of foreign luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel from China and selling them in South Korea from February last year through February this year. They are also suspected of laundering about 5.1 billion won in proceeds from the sales, sending the money overseas and elsewhere to evade investigation.

The investigation began on February 24, when police received a 112 emergency call reporting that “there is a secret warehouse storing counterfeit luxury goods in the jurisdiction.” Officers who responded to the scene arrested two employees guarding the warehouse in the act. Police then searched additional warehouses and seized more than 6,000 counterfeit items. By analyzing about 50 bank accounts and mobile phone call records, they tracked down the group’s higher-level distributors and members one by one.

The group operated covertly, excluding outsiders and relying on relatives and acquaintances. Chinese supplier B allegedly used other people’s personal customs clearance codes to smuggle in counterfeit goods and sent them to women’s safe parcel lockers and other locations, where domestic ringleader A collected them.

A assigned key operational duties, including sales and laundering payments, to her biological son, C, while other acquaintances handled transporting and selling the goods. To evade tracking, the group also received sales proceeds in bank accounts held under other people’s names, known as “borrowed-name accounts,” then withdrew the money in cash and moved it elsewhere.

Fake luxury handbags and boxes packed in large plastic bags and burlap sacks are piled high inside a secret warehouse uncovered by the Seoul Seongbuk Police Station. Seoul Seongbuk Police Station

The distribution network extended like a web across online and offline channels. The group sold directly to consumers through online shopping malls and social media video platforms, while also supplying offline retailers in major commercial districts such as Dongdaemun and Myeongdong at bargain prices of just 2% to 3% of the authentic goods’ retail prices. Investigators found that members received either a set percentage of sales as commission or a fixed monthly salary, depending on their roles.

At the raids, police seized 6,093 counterfeit items across 27 product categories, with an estimated value of 35.5 billion won based on the retail prices of authentic goods. Police also secured a pre-indictment preservation order for 35 million won of the criminal proceeds the group had moved overseas.

A police official said, “The distribution of counterfeit goods not only deceives consumers but also causes enormous harm to legitimate trademark owners and honest sellers. We will continue enforcement and investigations to root out illegal distribution networks that infringe intellectual property rights and undermine fair market transactions.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.