Counterfeit figurines and toys worth €3.5 million seized at Malpensa
The cargo, with a total weight of over 12 tonnes, was intercepted by Customs and Monopolies Agency officials and the Financial Police of the Malpensa Group - Provincial Command of the Varese Finance Police
The puppets and figurines, bearing famous but counterfeit trademarks, were destined for the national and European markets. The cargo, weighing a total of over 12 tonnes and worth almost EUR 3.5 million, was, however, intercepted by Customs and Monopolies Agency officials and the Financial Police of the Malpensa Group - Provincial Command of the Varese Finance Police as part of activities aimed at combating the phenomenon of transnational trademark counterfeiting.
Goods for 12 tonnes
It all started from the analysis of passages and goods arriving or in transit at the airport. The checks, as reconstructed in a note by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, started from the analysis 'of the commercial flows of goods arriving at Malpensa Airport'. The activity allowed 'to identify several shipments of products from China, for a total weight of more than 12 tonnes, which arrived on national territory as "goods in transit"'. The goods, 'through subsequent transport by road' were supposed to arrive both on the national market and on that of other EU countries.
Figurines and toys
In the load, sets of figurines 'depicting nonsensical characters and phrases, generated by artificial intelligence, widely diffused among commercial products aimed at adolescents, as well as collectible 'urban toy' style mini-puppets bearing trademarks such as: "Skifidol Italian brainrot", "Disney", "Pop Mart", "The Monster", "Biginto Energy Pop Mart", "Lovely Doll Pop Mart" and "Cocacola Pop Mart"'.
Well-known products, especially among children and teenagers, in most cases "advertised by well-known influencers with millions of views on social channels, where they proceed to 'pack open' the sachets by discovering and commenting on the contents live".
Experts: counterfeit articles
Therefore, following the investigations carried out by the military of the Malpensa Group and coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Busto Arsizio, the seizure for confiscation and subsequent destruction of "a total of 1,579,602 counterfeit articles, with a commercial value of 3,481,315.00 euro", as well as the indictment of a person for "Introduction in the State and trade of products with false signs".
