Record seizure in Greece

The Athens police, assisted by local FH agents, seized just under 117,000 counterfeit products.

On 2 December, an investigator appointed by an FH partner in Greece asked the police to intervene rapidly at premises in Athens. His investigations had led him to this building where he strongly suspected the presence of a large stock of counterfeit watch products. His suspicions were certainly justified! Rented by a Chinese citizen, these premises were dedicated entirely to the storage and wholesaling of counterfeit products.

Nearly 117,000 counterfeit watches were discovered there. These copies kept in a great many white boxes and other bales of goods took up every corner of the apartment and adjacent corridors.

Looking fairly normal at first sight, nothing could have led visitors to suppose what was in fact going on behind the doors of this property. Only investigations and a good knowledge of the lie of the land brought the discovery to light. It took two days and at least four return journeys by a small truck operated by the municipal highways authority to empty the premises completely.

As the practice followed by the Greek authorities allows goods to be destroyed once they have been counted and without awaiting the formal decision of a court of law, the watches whose counterfeit character was beyond any shadow of a doubt were therefore destroyed the day after the raid.

In view of the scale of the offence, the case is of course continuing in the Athens criminal courts. This record seizure which was the subject of a special communication on the Greek police force website has been widely reported in the local press.

Greece remains more than ever a strategic player in the fight against counterfeit timepieces and a country where the FH is fortunately able to count on the support of the local authorities.

February 02, 2017