A Toronto police investigation nicknamed Project Lucky Chan has led to the seizure of $2.5 million worth of counterfeit goods.
Police said the probe began in November after a number of people came forward with complaints about makeup and electronics purchased in Toronto.
“As a result of using this makeup, they started developing skin irritation and rashes,” Det. Rob Whalen told reporters during a press conference Friday morning.
“We sent the samples to various rights holders. They were able to confirm that it was not actually their product that was causing this injury but it was counterfeit product.”
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As a result of the investigation, police said they executed four search warrants including one at an anti-counterfeiting conference where fake products were being sold in the hotel’s main floor lobby.
Investigators were then led to a warehouse owned and operated by Lucky’s Import and Wholesale on The Queensway where 16 truck loads of counterfeit products were seized.
“There was approximately 119 pallets of property, all of which have been found to be counterfeit,” Whalen said. “As a result of this seizure, which we believe is around $2.5 million if the product was real, we’ve got a lot of this property off the street.”
Police said items seized included children’s toys, perfume, makeup, pharmaceutical drugs, handbags and various electronics.
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Authorities are warning the public to make sure to purchase items from legitimate retailers either online or at retail locations.
“When you go to make a purchase of property, research your product. Look at the packaging. These companies spend a lot of time advertising their goods so the packaging is impeccable,” Whalen explained.
“What we find is the counterfeits are very poor copies of the object itself. Some of the packaging when you look at it, it doesn’t say what company made it.”
Police said Project Lucky Chan resulted in three arrests including the owner and operator of the warehouse where the counterfeit goods were stored.
Two of the suspects have been charged with immigration violations, while the owner of Lucky’s Import and Wholesale, identified as 46-year-old Hock Chan, faces multiples charges including possession of property for the purpose of trafficking, fraud over $5,000 and passing off wares.