Brother and sister counterfeited with fellow villagers and developed a counterfeit network cross four provinces. A piece of clothes which only costs about one hundred RMB, could be sold a few hundred or even more than one thousand RMB after it’s marked with famous brand labels. Recently, Guangzhou Zengcheng PSB successfully initiated a battle of counterfeit famous brand garments cluster cases. This battle destroyed a counterfeit famous brand network integrating production, warehousing and sales which involved many cities and provinces in countrywide. In the four producing and selling counterfeit cases, two counterfeit groups, including four targets, were destroyed and ten suspects and more than 90 thousand counterfeit garments of A company, of which the involved value was more than 100 million RMB.
 
Warehouse at the edge of wharf selling high class foreign brand products
 
“A group of people rented a warehouse in Xintang Town and sold quite large amount of counterfeit “A” garments online.” In August, Economic Inspection Team of Zengcheng PSB got a report call.
“A” is a famous American casual wear. Casual wear and sportswear are its most famous products. This brand is popular between the youth. Its market price ranges from hundreds to thousands RMB.
After receiving reports, Zengcheng PSB gathered a special group to start investigation. According to the clues, they found the warehouse at a building located near the wharf of Xintang Town Dongzhou Village. There are five floors, which were all lent to different lessees. In order to make sure the details of the warehouse and people in it, policemen of the special group collected every information and analyzed it carefully. Finally, PSB made sure that the warehouse located at the fifth floor and learned the main suspect of this case, Mr.Wei, Ms.Wei and Mr.Wei’s wife Ms.Jiang.
The special group gathered the suspects’ crime evidence and waited around the target at the meantime. After a period time of investigation and evidence collection, special group gathered large amount crime evidence of the group. However, the two main suspects, Mr.Wei and Ms.Wei were so crafty that they seldom went to the warehouse. It’s hard to know their whereabouts.
 
PSB raided at night destroying counterfeit targets
 
On this day, special group got the information that Ms.Jiang (Mr. Wei’s wife) would come back to Guangzhou from Shanghai by airplane at 11pm. At that night, PSB divided into three groups. One went to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to capture suspect Ms.Jiang. One went to the community where other suspects lived in to capture them. The last one went to the warehouse to research and investigate. In the action, six suspects were captured, including Ms.Jiang, Mr.Ma, Mr.Ge, Mr.Wu, Ms.Guo and Ms.He. 37,433 pieces of different kinds of counterfeit garments of “A” and a laptop used for selling online were confiscated.
After interrogation, PSB knew that Weis had another warehouse in Xintang Town. When PSB hurried to this newly found warehouse, they found that a few workers were packaging the counterfeit garments. It turned out to be that Weis hired some workers to transfer the garments in the second warehouse after they knew that the first one was raided. After counting the inventory, PSB confiscated 51,781 pieces of counterfeit garments in this warehouse.
In the above two warehouses, PSB confiscated 89,214 pieces of counterfeits in total, which involved value more than 80 million RMB.

PSB of four provinces destroyed counterfeit network together
 
Not long after the raid action, special group captured Mr.Wei in Jiangxi Province. As suspects were brought to justice one after another, case context became clear gradually. Suspects ordered “A” counterfeit garments from factory in Jiangxi Jiujiang. Then they rented a warehouse in Zengcheng and bought an online order system from Internet Company. They offered accounts and passwords to their consumers and hired workers to collect orders. At noon of every day, workers in the warehouse would load the goods after counting the numbers according to the orders. Then the goods would be transferred to some garment distribution center in Guangzhou to hand over to some second-level dealers by minivan.
With further investigation, PSB found that besides the factory in Jiujiang, this counterfeit network also had warehouse and point of sales in Hunan and Fujian. Since this case involved more than four provinces and large amount of value, in November, Zengcheng PSB applied for cluster cases to Economic Inspection Bureau of Ministry of Public Security. PSB in different places took action at once. Three cases were solved and three suspects were captured. The factory in Jiujiang, warehouses and point of sales in Hunan and Fujian were also destroyed. More than 10 thousand “A” counterfeit garments, more than 10 thousand counterfeit trademark labels and 120 thousand counterfeit brand buttons were confiscated.
As for now, 10 suspects are now criminal detained according to law. PSB are now focus on the arrest action of Ms.Wei.
 
Closed group members Better way to sell counterfeits
 
According to the suspects confessed, they started to sell “A” counterfeits in Guangzhou Garment Center since 2010. Ms.Wei was originally worked in a garment factory in Zhongshan. Since she knew more about garment production processes, she contacted with a factory in Jiangxi Jiujiang to process counterfeit garments for her. As her business developed well, Ms.Wei asked her brother and sister-in-law to join her. Her brother, Mr.Wei was a public officer of Jiangxi Nanchang. Seeing that his sister profited well from this business, he quitted his job and joined the business. Other members in this group are almost all the relatives, friends and schoolmates of the brother and sister. The relation between group members are close and they protected each other.
This group developed from retail to storage and sales. At first, they contacted customers via QQ. Later, they rented a server and gave the consumers account and password. After the consumers entered the system, they can get all the information of the garments and orders as they need. The members of the group would print the order and package according to it and then deliver the goods. Their activities have organized a perfect service chain from production, providing to selling.
 
Stimulated well Group profited well
 
According to the introduction from the policemen, counterfeits confiscated in this case stimulated the genuine ones well. Customers are difficult to recognize.
Cost of these counterfeits ranges from 20 to 110 RMB. The group added 50 RMB for each and sold to second-level dealer. However, the genuine garments can be sold a few hundred or even one thousand. Suspects sold more than one thousand counterfeits via Internet and profited dozens of thousands illegally.
With these illegal profit, suspect lived quite well. Just before PSB raided, Mr.Wei operated an Annatto furniture store at his hometown, Jiangxi.
 
Group disguised well Manipulated selling activities online
 
The group disguised so well that they often moved the warehouse. At the very beginning, the warehouse located in Guangzhou, then Dongguan. In May 2012, they moved to Zengcheng. Workers always closed the door to work. They worked from 1pm to 6pm everyday via QQ, mobile phones or online order system and then delivered the goods via expresses. They never contacted with the consumers directly. Every suspect had at least two phone numbers, one of which was used to contact up line or down line especially. The bank accounts they used to collect payment for goods were also opened with others’ ID. As soon as the bill was paid, they would withdraw cash. If one of them was captured, all the contact information, band account and delivery would be changed to avoid being raided.