Customs officials seize counterfeit goods worth CZK 5 million from Prague’s Sapa Market

Prague customs officers seized counterfeit brand goods valued at almost CZK 5 million from the Sapa marketplace in Prague on Tuesday, the Czech customs authority said on its website earlier this week.

A vendor singled out the plainclothes customs officers as potential customers and then led the officers to a hidden container with almost 2,000 items. As soon as the customs officers disclosed who they were, she tried to escape and attacked one of them. She was then handcuffed.

The hidden container included shoes, textiles, perfumes, and fake fashion accessories imitating such brands as Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Guess, and Michael Kors.

The customs officers then drove the found goods to their store where they will remain until the case is finished.

The customs officers also found fake brand goods worth several million crowns in the Sapa marketplace last July. At that time, the seized clothing, shoes, handbags, and perfumes were valued in their original form at CZK 3 million.

Another seizure last April yielded counterfeit goods worth tens of millions of crowns.

When making their checks, the customs officers cooperate with the Czech Trade Inspection Authority, which has published the annual figures on the seized fake goods for last year.

During the checks, they uncovered over 36,000 pieces of goods worth CZK 80.5 million. The number was almost one-quarter higher than a year ago when the sales were limited by the lockdown measures over COVID.

Last year, the value of the seized fake goods was 30 percent higher than in 2021.

As the website of the Customs Office for Prague notes, it is "well known" that so-called "hidden sales" are taking place at Sapa, where sellers don't display their goods on counters and shelves, but instead, they hide them in secret places where they take selected customers.