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Police on lookout for trademark counterfeiters

Monroe officers have been busting  vendors at Traders World and  Treasure Aisles for selling knockoffs.

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By Denise Wilson, Staff Writer 11:20 AM Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Monroe Police Dept. wants trademark counterfeiters to know they are not welcome in the community.

Det. Doug Leist recently worked the off-duty detail at Traders World on Union Road and noticed a vendor selling counterfeit purses.

Leist has warned several vendors to remove fake items or they will be arrested and the merchandise confiscated, according to recent police reports.

Some were selling counterfeit purses, shoes and hats, which are common counterfeit items.

“Sometimes we’ll do that, and other times we’re going to arrest them,” said Monroe Police Chief Greg Homer

“There is such as thing as officers’ discretion ... and he (Leist) decided to do that and that’s fine with me. But the police department is not going to allow counterfeit goods to be sold in our town.”

Homer said despite the raids at two area flea markets, the counterfeiters keep stopping in at Traders World and Treasure Aisles, formerly known as Turtlecreek Flea Market on Garver Road.

“We’ve eliminated most of the ones — I’ll call them ‘inside stores’ — that are pretty well-housed there. It’s mostly the outside ones we’re getting now that come and go,” he said.

“Most of the inside ones know that we hit them, so they moved out.”

Homer said the department will continue its enforcement of the counterfeiters.

Earlier this year, Monroe police arrested a Dayton man in the department’s first trademark counterfeiting arrest at Treasure Aisles.

Abdul Issa, 49, was arrested and charged with trademark counterfeiting, a fourth-degree felony, for selling items that included the labels Coach, Gucci and Betty Boop.

Police also seized 98 pairs of shoes with the Nike trademark and 99 shoeboxes with the Nike label and Nike-labeled shoes inside.

In addition, the department seized 56 purses and wallets and $191.

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