AFP
Mar 5, 2009
Italian officials seize 150,000 fake Burberry items: report
AFP
Mar 5, 2009
ROME, March 5, 2009 (AFP) - Italian authorities have seized 150,000 counterfeit Burberry garments and accessories at Rome's Fiumicino airport, the airport news agency Telenews reported Thursday.
They found the items bearing the high-end British fashion label hidden in a shipment from China, Telenews said.
Had they been passed off as the genuine article they would have earned some 10 million euros (12.5 million dollars), it added in a statement.
Five people -- three Chinese and two Italians -- are under investigation for importing counterfeit merchandise, it said.
Italy is Europe's leading producer of counterfeit items.
The Federation of Commerce estimated the street value of counterfeited items in 2008 would total 7.5 billion euros, up from 7.2 billion euros in 2007.
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