Counterfeit Goods

Imean Shaheed was working last Sunday when federal agents rushed into the Patapsco Flea Market, announced over the loudspeaker that the bazaar was closed for business and shut down vendors selling knockoff Nikes, Louis Vuitton bags and Tiffany & Co. jewelry. "It was like the movies," the 20-year-old Shaheed said Saturday after the Cherry Hill flea market re-opened. Some booths were empty, but the parking lot was full and customers flocked to vendors such as Shaheed who were open for business.

Baltimore County police seized $1.5 million worth of counterfeit merchandise after a raid at a Dundalk flea market last month, the department announced Wednesday. Charges are pending against 19 people who rent space in the market, not the flea market owners, police said. The vendors have not been identified. Officers raided the North Point Plaza Flea Market on Old North Point Boulevard on Feb. 16, taking more than 4,000 pairs of shoes and 3,500 phone accessories along with pirated movies and music and clothing items.

As regulars perused handmade jewelry, discounted bedsheets, slightly-worn stuffed animals and other knick-knacks, dozens of Baltimore County police officers swarmed into a bustling Dundalk flea market Saturday morning to bust vendors allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise. What appeared to be fleece North Face jackets, UGG Boots, DVDs and CDs were seized by officers serving search warrants on 16 vendors at the Plaza Flea Market on Old North Point Boulevard. “They just came running in here and told people to put the stuff down.

As regulars perused handmade jewelry, discounted bedsheets, slightly-worn stuffed animals and other knick-knacks, dozens of Baltimore County police officers swarmed into a bustling Dundalk flea market Saturday morning to bust vendors allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise. What appeared to be fleece North Face jackets, UGG Boots, DVDs and CDs were seized by officers serving search warrants on 16 vendors at the Plaza Flea Market on Old North Point Boulevard. “They just came running in here and told people to put the stuff down.

Baltimore County police seized $1.5 million worth of counterfeit merchandise after a raid at a Dundalk flea market last month, the department announced Wednesday. Charges are pending against 19 people who rent space in the market, not the flea market owners, police said. The vendors have not been identified. Officers raided the North Point Plaza Flea Market on Old North Point Boulevard on Feb. 16, taking more than 4,000 pairs of shoes and 3,500 phone accessories along with pirated movies and music and clothing items.

Officers raided multiple businesses Wednesday in Ocean City that are suspected of trafficking counterfeit goods, a federal official said. The Homeland Security Investigations division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was the lead agency handling the execution of search and seizure warrants for "counterfeit goods or services," said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for ICE, in a statement. This case is not related to immigration issues, he said. No one was arrested during the searches for fake designer goods and at least some of the businesses searched were near the boardwalk, said Special Agent Rich Wolf, a spokesman for the FBI's Baltimore field office.

Two men who set up shop directly across from the state police barracks in Jessup are the first to be charged under a new state trademark counterfeiting law.Police said the two men are suspected of selling thousands of dollars in counterfeit designer goods -- Tommy Hilfiger sweat shirts and watches, Rolex watches and Disney T-shirts that came with Warner Brothers cartoon characters -- from their roadside stand y across the street from the Waterloo barracks on...

Undercover federal agents rented a booth at Patapsco Flea Market to gain access to its management as part of a 2 1/2 -year sting targeting merchants selling counterfeit and pirated goods - an investigation that resulted in a raid Sunday on the Southwest Baltimore marketplace, according to a search warrant and affidavit released Monday. Capping the intensive investigation into fake brand-name clothes and accessories, as well as pirated DVDs and musical recordings, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations confiscated numerous items being sold at the sprawling market.

Vendors at the Patapsco Flea Market have a history of allegedly selling counterfeit and pirated merchandise, according to an affidavit, which outlined the latest accusation that resulted in a raid Sunday by federal Homeland Security Investigations special agents. Capping a 2 1/2-year-long investigation into counterfeit apparel and accessories as well as pirated DVDs and musical recordings, federal investigators confiscated numerous items being sold there. Federal authorities released few details about the raid, but the affidavit details several undercover operations that found that many of the items sold at the flea market were fake.

Ocean City's boardwalk is known for small shops hawking salt water taffy and souvenirs to vacation-goers. But a major luxury brand has accused more than a dozen shops of doing brisk trade in an illegal market: counterfeit handbags and accessories. Over two days in June, an investigator with Coach Inc. entered 13 stores overlooking the beach and bought counterfeit bags, wallets and other items for prices ranging from $20 to $75, according to lawsuits filed by Coach in federal court in Baltimore this week.

WEATHER: Rain and light snow , high near 41. Tonight is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a slight chance of precipitation before 9 p.m. and a low around 31. TRAFFIC: Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues. TOP NEWS Revelations in abuse case spark calls for reform : State legislators and sexual-abuse victim advocates called Monday for reforms in the way such cases are handled in Maryland, in the wake of a Baltimore Sun investigation related to John Merzbacher, a one-time teacher at Catholic Community Middle School in Locust Point.

Federal agents in Baltimore seized 36 commercial websites on Monday as part of an international operation to stop fraudulent online sales this holiday season, alleging that the sites have been selling counterfeit goods — including athletic gear bearing the copyrighted logos of pro sports teams. Dubbed "Operation Cyber Monday 3," the international effort involved law enforcement agencies from across the United States and Europe, and seized a total of 101 website domains that allegedly sold counterfeit sports gear, jewelry, shoes, movies and other items copyrighted by brand-name companies.

Imean Shaheed was working last Sunday when federal agents rushed into the Patapsco Flea Market, announced over the loudspeaker that the bazaar was closed for business and shut down vendors selling knockoff Nikes, Louis Vuitton bags and Tiffany & Co. jewelry. "It was like the movies," the 20-year-old Shaheed said Saturday after the Cherry Hill flea market re-opened. Some booths were empty, but the parking lot was full and customers flocked to vendors such as Shaheed who were open for business.

A federal grand jury indicted five men on charges they allegedly sold counterfeit goods of high-end designers such as Michael Kors, Coach and Jimmy Choo around Baltimore, including at the Patapsco Flea Market, where authorities conducted a weekend raid in a similar but separate investigation. Charged were Tidiane Ba, 44; Mamadou Lamine Ba, 51; Abass Baro, 44; Sakho Oumar, 33; and Baba Toure, 39, all of Baltimore, according to the indictment unsealed Wednesday. Toure was being sought by law enforcement officials; the others were arrested on Sunday and released Monday under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.

April 26 is "World Intellectual Property Day," a day designated to increase public awareness about how intellectual property rights promote innovation and creativity. The federal government is working to prevent counterfeiting and piracy, but the government needs help from vigilant citizens who understand why intellectual property rights matter. In order to promote economic, scientific and creative progress, the Constitution expressly empowers Congress to give authors and innovators the exclusive right to profit from their writings and discoveries.

Undercover federal agents rented a booth at Patapsco Flea Market to gain access to its management as part of a 2 1/2 -year sting targeting merchants selling counterfeit and pirated goods - an investigation that resulted in a raid Sunday on the Southwest Baltimore marketplace, according to a search warrant and affidavit released Monday. Capping the intensive investigation into fake brand-name clothes and accessories, as well as pirated DVDs and musical recordings, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations confiscated numerous items being sold at the sprawling market.

A federal grand jury indicted five men on charges they allegedly sold counterfeit goods of high-end designers such as Michael Kors, Coach and Jimmy Choo around Baltimore, including at the Patapsco Flea Market, where authorities conducted a weekend raid in a similar but separate investigation. Charged were Tidiane Ba, 44; Mamadou Lamine Ba, 51; Abass Baro, 44; Sakho Oumar, 33; and Baba Toure, 39, all of Baltimore, according to the indictment unsealed Wednesday. Toure was being sought by law enforcement officials; the others were arrested on Sunday and released Monday under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.

Nine people were indicted this week on federal charges that they smuggled millions of dollars' worth of counterfeit goods - including fake Nike sneakers, Coach handbags and even Viagra - into the country through the port of Baltimore. A sister investigation in London led to six arrests and the seizure of 50,000 phony items, the largest bust of its kind in England. "This was not a mom-and-pop organization; this was organized crime on a grand scale," John Morton, assistant secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Friday during a news conference to announce the indictment.

Vendors at the Patapsco Flea Market have a history of allegedly selling counterfeit and pirated merchandise, according to an affidavit, which outlined the latest accusation that resulted in a raid Sunday by federal Homeland Security Investigations special agents. Capping a 2 1/2-year-long investigation into counterfeit apparel and accessories as well as pirated DVDs and musical recordings, federal investigators confiscated numerous items being sold there. Federal authorities released few details about the raid, but the affidavit details several undercover operations that found that many of the items sold at the flea market were fake.