National Police agents, in collaboration with customs and tax authorities, coordinated a sweeping action that disrupted a widespread distribution network of counterfeit products linked to luxury brands. The operation, carried out in the Canary Islands, marked the largest seizure of its kind in Europe, with more than five tons of counterfeit goods taken off the market. Authorities reported 17 arrests, 14 search takedowns, the seizure of four warehouses and three addresses, as well as 70,000 euros in cash and the impoundment of three vehicles. Experts estimate the seized items could have a value surpassing 300 million euros.
Following initial notifications, investigators traced a chain that pointed to several shops on the island of Tenerife that appeared to handle fake merchandise. A distributor partner in Fuerteventura was identified as a key figure within a criminal group responsible for purchasing, storing, and distributing counterfeit items.
Given the gravity of the case, the operation was conducted with the involvement of the prosecutor’s office in a joint investigation aided by EUROPOL’s National Central Unit, highlighting the cross-border scope of the network.
A police operation, codenamed django, led to the dismantling of a criminal organization focused on large-scale counterfeiting and marketing of luxury brand products, with activity concentrated on Tenerife and Fuerteventura. The group typically bought counterfeit goods at the Cobo Calleja industrial park in Madrid and steered their products toward tourist zones, leveraging the high concentration of short-term visitors to the region.
Beginning of the investigation
The investigation commenced in September 2021, under the Economic and Financial Crime Unit of the Provincial Judicial Police Brigade of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This unit had identified a wholesale point for counterfeit leather goods in southern Tenerife and conducted surveillance that captured the perpetrator selling items to various customers, both directly on streets and through market stalls. It was determined that cargo shipments originated from Fuerteventura, and investigators enlisted several Chinese nationals who were believed to lead the operation.
As the case progressed, the Customs Inspection Service joined the effort. They established that numerous products were stored and processed under the distributor’s control, prompting a detailed follow-up of the network’s activities. The leader coordinated shipments from Fuerteventura to other points on the islands and to Tenerife, where an assigned contact person managed distribution and retail development.
The matter was referred to Arona Court No. 4 for pre-trial procedures in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The material was bought in Madrid
Investigators uncovered a well-structured criminal enterprise organized in three tiers: a top level that orchestrated procurement of counterfeit goods and their distribution across the archipelago; a middle tier handling supply and distribution tasks; and a bottom tier that obtained merchandise from the top or middle levels for direct retail. The leadership initially sourced counterfeits at the Cobo Calleja complex in Fuenlabrada, Madrid, and sometimes directly from China. Goods were shipped by sea to the Canary Islands and delivered through private parcel services, with storage at a Fuerteventura warehouse or even at private residences when convenient for the network.
Once collected in the warehouses, the counterfeit items moved to various local shops across the archipelago, often alongside other marketers affiliated with the same network, who sold directly to consumers and supplied additional businesses.
A large, coordinated operation
Because of the operation’s scale, mid-year a major, synchronized effort was launched involving the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Provincial Judicial Police Brigade and the Customs Surveillance Operations Unit. The action spanned Fuerteventura and Tenerife, with nearly one hundred officers from multiple units across the Canary Islands, supported by customs authorities and canine units from the Tenerife capital.
In total, three residences, four warehouses, and fourteen market outlets on both islands were searched simultaneously. Authorities seized more than 70,000 euros in cash and three vehicles, and confiscated over five tons of counterfeit goods from high-profile brands, including bags, leather goods, apparel, sunglasses, watches, and assorted fashion accessories. Expert evaluations set the potential value of the confiscated material at well over 300 million euros.
As a result of the operation, 17 individuals were arrested for membership in a criminal organization, along with charges of industrial property crimes and money laundering. The organization’s dismantling also spurred ongoing investigations into money laundering activities.
In total, more than 250,000 counterfeit items had been collected during the course of the investigation, with authorities estimating a potential value approaching 222 million euros for material not yet analyzed in two warehouses. This figure remains pending official court review and registration as evidence.