Global counterfeiting gang convicted

A City of London Police investigation into a global organised crime gang that aimed to flood the UK with counterfeit goods has today led to the conviction of four men at Southwark Crown Court.

Zoheir Habet, 41, Maroud Abad, 39, Elies Dehimi, 47 and his brother Sid Dehimi, 24, were the UK-arm of a criminal network worth tens of millions of pounds.

Working in collaboration with the US authorities, City of London Police detectives operated covertly to track containers of illegal goods being shipped from the Far East and through ports into the South East of England.

The four men oversaw the importation and distribution of counterfeit items masquerading as leading international brands onto market stalls and shops in London and across the country.

In March 2010, a City of London Police-led operation saw forty containers searched, six men arrested in Greater London and one of the largest seizures of counterfeit goods in UK history.

The haul, worth five million pounds, included approximately 50,000 items of counterfeit clothing, footwear, handbags and faulty hair-straighteners.

At the same time US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE Baltimore) was making nine arrests in their jurisdiction, with those involved later pleading guilty to smuggling counterfeit goods that included 120,000 pairs of trainers, 500,000 handbags, 10,000 pairs of luxury shoes and 500 counterfeit wrist watches into the US.  
 
The convictions are the culmination of a unique international collaboration between the City of London Police (ECD), UK Border Agency and US Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE).

What started as a US investigation quickly became a Transatlantic operation when the City of London Police’s Economic Crime Directorate were approached by ICE with intelligence that the global crime group were planning to extend their network into the UK.

Det Supt Dave Clark, from the City of London Police, said:

“Counterfeiting is a crime that costs the country tens of millions in lost tax, damages legitimate companies and feeds other criminality, including human trafficking and slave labour.

“The four men convicted today were key components in a criminal network that stretched around the world, hiving off millions of pounds from counterfeit goods made in China and sold on market stalls and shops around the UK.

“That they are no longer free to continue their illegal activities is due to a complex and extensive Transatlantic investigation by UK and US authorities committed to clamping down on counterfeiting and the organised crime groups who profir from it.”

Sid Dehimi, of Finsbury Park, North London; was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to contravene section 92(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 between August 2007 and March 2010, and three counts of possession of criminal property.

Elies Dehimi, of South Harrow, Middlesex, was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to contravene section 92(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 between August 2007 and March 2010, and four counts of possession of criminal property.

Maroud Abad, of Shepherds Bush, West London; was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to contravene section 92(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 between August 2007 and March 2010, and two counts of possession of criminal property.

Zoheir Habet, of Brentford, was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to contravene section 92(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 between August 2007 and March 2010.