Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona, the city police, and the Spanish Civil Guard seized 27,310 counterfeit products during raids on two homes and a warehouse in Badalona's Sant Roc neighbourhood on 13 February. The operation removed a distribution centre that police said supplied fake branded goods for sale in Barcelona, affecting shoppers and legitimate retailers.

According to Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona, the goods had an estimated value of between €2 million and €3 million. Badalona City Police assisted the operation, known as Monogram Cup.

Warehouse and homes searched in Sant Roc

Officers found products imitating well-known brands, including sports shirts and equipment, watches and perfumes. The authorities said six people were being investigated for alleged offences against industrial property and belonging to a criminal organisation.

The official notice describes 27,310 fake branded products seized in the February operation. That total covers several types of goods, rather than sunglasses alone.

Investigators traced supplies to Badalona

Guàrdia Urbana and the Civil Guard's Tax and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit, known by its Spanish acronym UDAIFF, began coordinating with Port de Barcelona during the first half of the previous year. Police expected demand for fake goods to rise during the America's Cup.

Investigators concluded that police pressure in Barcelona had shifted storage of counterfeit goods towards nearby municipalities, including Badalona. The Civil Guard identified containers of unbranded textile products being sent to businesses there.

  • In November, the Civil Guard seized 20,000 pairs of unbranded trainers in Badalona.
  • Officers also found material intended to add logos to the trainers.
  • On 13 February, they searched two homes and one warehouse in Sant Roc.

Residents and shoppers who suspect a business is selling counterfeit branded goods can provide the location, product details and any purchase information to the police when making a report. The operation targeted the storage and distribution chain before the goods reached sellers in Barcelona.

Primary sources: ajuntament.barcelona.cat, Ramon, badalona.cat. Reported by europapress.es, Cesc Maideu, 20 Minutos Barcelona, Alejandro Díaz, CatalunyaPress.es, J. G. Albalat, Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life, tarragonadigital.com, Eva Gómez.