N ° 5, Coco Mademoiselle, Dior J’adore, Angel, La Petite robe noire, Flower … Every day, bottles of the greatest perfumes were sold in markets all over France. A scent well known to regulars, an identical brand or logo but a capacity that does not exist among perfumers. It is this last element which intrigued the investigators of the judicial police of Orleans.
Last spring, police were interested in ads posted on Facebook‘s online sales application, MarketPlace. The latter offer 33 ml bottles of 350-400 different flavors. Each time, the containers are identical, only the label differs for each vaporizer. Quickly, the investigators go back to a family of Moroccan origin living in Orléans.
Wholesale
The 54-year-old father and 21-year-old son were actually wholesalers. Orders for a minimum of 100 bottles and up to 5000 bottles, with regressive prices. The two men had joined forces with a man of Turkish nationality originally from Orléans but who had settled in Aubervilliers in Seine-Saint-Denis.
The network imported these neutral bottles with their contents from Bulgaria or Turkey. They arrived separately from the packaging, thus allowing the goods not to be seized in the event of customs control. Proof of the success of their traffic: they could place orders for an amount of 250,000 euros. The perfumes were then stored in several warehouses in Orléans but also in Aubervilliers, Saint-Ouen, Clichy and Clermont-Ferrand. Because the network was able to deliver to all French regions.
In these warehouses, other little hands would label and package the vials for shipping. Bought for one euro in Eastern Europe, each bottle was sold for between 2.5 and 3 euros. The buyers then resold these vaporizers on the Internet but especially in the markets. “It worked very well because the perfumes have the real fragrances”, explains a source close to the investigation.
100,000 counterfeit products seized
Investigators estimate at 1.5 million euros in profits set aside by the man based in Aubervilliers. Money reinvested in real estate in Turkey, its country of origin, but also in Dubai. The Orleans family did the same with their profits in Morocco. This traffic was profitable because the father kept bragging to his relatives that his son earned between 25 and 30,000 euros per week.
A vast police operation was carried out jointly by the judicial police of Orleans and Clermont-Ferrand last Tuesday. Ten people were arrested, nine were presented to a judge and indicted. During the searches, the police seized 100,000 counterfeit products, mainly perfumes but also Nike, Adidas, Lacoste clothing or luxury Chanel or Louis Vuitton bags. Estimated amount of the goods: 1.8 million euros.
Photo: Counterfeit perfume bottles were resold on the internet or in markets
