By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN WEST — Port Authority officers raided a midtown perfume wholesaler Wednesday afternoon, confiscating over $1 million worth of knockoff goods bearing the logos of luxury brands including Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry.
Police arrested eight employees of Metro Perfume at 1177B Broadway, where they found more than 100,000 counterfeit items during the raid, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators recovered hundreds of counterfeit perfume bottles with labels claiming to be pricey brands like Burberry, Dolce and Gabbana and Gucci, they said. Police also found a host of counterfeit watches that looked identical to Movado and $4,000 G-Shock watches, but sold for as little as $10 apiece, prosecutors said.
The bust occurred after an investigation into a case of Casio watches stolen from a cargo hold at Kennedy Airport led officials to the store, the Post reported.
Some of the suspects were apprehended while in the midst of making the counterfeit perfume, the paper reported.
Officers could be seen walking out of the store Wednesday afternoon carrying boxes and bags of good labeled as luxury brands, the New York Post reported.
The eight suspects were all charged with trademark counterfeiting, prosecutors said.
Passersby on Wednesday said they had come here in the past for the cheap perfumes — the window display offers Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden for just $10.99 and Boss Hugo Boss Number One for $26.99.
“I’ve never seen nothing suspect in this store,” said Baba Doumbia, a 35-year-old Bronx resident whose sister used to operate a cell phone kiosk inside the store. “This makes me feel so bad, I’m crying.”
