By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
SOHO — Police raided two pedestrian shopping malls along Canal Street allegedly full of knock-off handbags, watches and jewelry, an official in the mayor's office said.
The raid was part of a two-month crackdown on counterfeit goods that resulted in 500 arrests and 13,000 seized handbags with a total retail value of $650,000, Lolita Jackson, Manhattan director of the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit, told Community Board 2 Thursday night.
Little Chinatown, a highly-trafficked shopping area at 247 Canal St. and shops at 259 Canal St. were seen closed up on Thursday. According to Jackson, 27 booths were raided.
Properties were slapped with orders from Manhattan Supreme Court that cited trademark counterfeit activities and stated “removal of property from these premises is prohibited.”
The raid is believed to be the largest in Manhattan since December. Back then, 10 buildings, housing 31 stalls, were shuttered between Broadway and West Broadway.
Little Chinatown was also hit with a Department of Buildings an emergency vacate order stating that conditions are “perilous to life” with “combustible unprotected constructions with no sprinklers,” according to signage on the storefront.
Since then, residents have said knock-off vendors have come into SoHo and NoLIta, luring customers into vans and trucks to view the merchandise.
Jackson said counterfeit activity remains an ongoing issue in the neighborhood.
