Spain removed out of the Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy list

Spain removed out of the Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy list – Frontcopy Operation.

On July 2021 React Spain joined forces with the Civil Guard to participate on the Operation Frontcopy, a raid action against the counterfeit market in La Jonquera. As a result, Spain has been removed out of the Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy list of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

After 3 years in a row being included in this blacklist made by the US Government, Spain has been removed out of this report that features the main physical and digital counterfeit markets in the world.

After months of previous investigation, the operation was finally launched next to La Jonquera, province of Girona. 149 agents and 46 vehicles of the Civil Guard were needed during the search and enquiries made along the day in this counterfeit red spot in Spain. During the action, 8 persons were arrested, 25 premises were inspected locating warehouses of counterfeit products as well as an illegal factory. In total, 85.665 products were seized for a total value of 16.491.341€. Subsequent operations made in September made these numbers even more remarkable.

The operation had the support of the Customs Surveillance Service, Labour Inspectorate, EUROPOL, a delegation of the Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) of the US Embassy in Spain, the French National Gendarmerie and the Tax Action Unit of the Portuguese Republican National Guard.

In gratitude for the positive result, REACT delivered a recognition plaque to the members of the Civil Guard Command in Girona.