Major operation by the Gdf in Catania: over 7,000 counterfeit products seized

Apple, Nintendo, Pokémon, Louis Vuitton. These are just some of the famous brands featured on the more than 7,000 counterfeit products seized by the Guardia di Finanza in the province of Catania. The large-scale operation targeted four different commercial premises and forms part of the Guardia di Finanza’s fight against counterfeiting, a phenomenon that risks becoming a ‘catalyst for illegality’, as it is often linked to tax evasion and undeclared work, and contributes to distorting competition in the market.

With this raid in the Etna area, the Guardia di Finanza has further stepped up its plan to monitor the territory in order to combat the illicit trade in counterfeit goods. The operation covered four municipalities: Catania, Misterbianco, San Giovanni la Punta and Giarre.

The inspections carried out by the ‘Baschi Verdi’ of the Pronto Impiego unit in Catania took place at four different multi-product retail outlets and led to the dismantling of a complex illegal network involved in the trade in counterfeit goods and the handling of stolen goods.

The range of counterfeit goods sold by the shopkeepers targeted in the raid is extremely wide. Law enforcement officers discovered and seized consoles, earphones, glasses, clothing accessories, soft toys, toys, stickers and playing cards bearing well-known brands such as Pokémon, Disney, K-pop Demon Hunters, Hello Kitty, Barbie, Squid Game, Louis Vuitton, Adidas and technology brands such as Apple and Nintendo.

A total of 19 micro-mobile phones were also found which replicated the “iPhone 17 Pro Max” model and featured Apple’s figurative trademarks in the device’s internal software and pre-installed applications.