Macedonian Customs Seize Designer Clothes from Illegal Boutique

During the search of an apartment in Skopje on April 22 2010, Macedonian customs inspectors seized a large quantity of various designer clothes — jeans, shirts, jackets and suits, bearing well-known brand names including Armani, Gucci, Versace and Prada.

The inspectors also seized watches, sunglasses, perfumes, men and women’s belts, handbags, shoes and trainers bearing logos of well-known brands.

Intelligence reports indicate that the apartment functioned as an illegal boutique for designer clothes. T-shirts were sold for EUR 30 (USD 37), the price of jeans varied from EUR 100 (USD 123) to EUR 150 (USD 185), while jackets were sold for EUR 500 (USD 615).

Furthermore, during regular controls at Macedonia’s border crossings in the period between April 8 and May 8, the Macedonian customs officials seized a considerable quantity of goods believed to be counterfeit.

At the Deve Bair border crossing, on the border with Bulgaria, the Macedonian customs officials seized 372 pairs of trainers bearing the Adidas logo and 300 mobile phone chargers bearing the mark of Nokia, while the customs officials in Skopje seized 12 pairs of jeans bearing the Levi’s mark and 80 T-shirts bearing the Armani logo.

The goods, which were found in trucks with Turkish license plates, originated in Turkey, and were intended for the Macedonian and Kosovo markets.

For more information, please contact Aleksandra Noveska at our Macedonia office.

Source: Macedonian Customs