A woman has pleaded guilty to trademark offences after a police raid uncovered hundreds of fake designer items including handbags and watches.
Standing in the dock at Newry Crown Court, 66-year-old Anne Roseleen Darcy entered guilty pleas to 11 charges of having items in breach of registered trademarks “with a view to make a gain for yourself or another or with intent to cause loss to another and without the consent of the proprietor” and one of selling goods “which bore a sign identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, a registered trade mark,” on September 1 last year.
While the pensioner, from Windsor Bank in Newry, admitted the dozen offences of having and selling counterfeit items, she denied two other offences of converting £86,820 cash of criminal property and transferring criminal property, namely bank credits, over a time span between January 22, 2018 and July 23 last year.
None of the alleged facts of the case were outlined in court on Thursday, however a PSNI statement issued on September 1 last year, stated that Organised Crime Unit Detectives had seized “nearly 500 items of suspected counterfeit designer goods and seized a BMW car following the search of a residential property in the Newry”.
Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney said that during the search they arrested a 65-year-old woman on suspicion of a number of offences.
He added: “During the pre-planned search, we have recovered and seized hundreds of items of suspected counterfeit luxury items including jewellery, watches, handbags, purses and footwear. We suspect that many of these items were being sold for hundreds of pounds each.”
An image sent out by police on the day of the raid showed a table laden with items including sunglasses, watches and handbags with a number of big brand names on display including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior.
Previous courts have heard claims that during the raid, officers seized 245 fake designer handbags and with the 66-year-old admitting she makes £200-250 on each bag, “the minimum profit would be £49,000 on that seizure alone”.
During an earlier bail variation application, a detective outlined that in addition to a room filled with counterfeit “handbags, belts, shoes and purses,” officers also uncovered £80,000 of diamonds “wrapped in paper” as well as a “diamond grading report” from a business in Dubai dated January 1, 2011.
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When Darcy was questioned, she made “full admissions”.
In court on Thursday, Judge Gordon Kerr KC set the case for trial on December 16 on the two outstanding charges but having heard from prosecuting counsel Malcolm Irvine and defence counsel Kevin Magill, he said he would review the case on September 26.
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