Police Confiscate Counterfeits in Fashion District
A multi-agency task force seized a large haul of suspected pirated DVDs, apparel, footwear and other intellectual property during a Nov. 29 raid near the Santee Alley area of the Los Angeles Fashion District.
The task force targeted several businesses along the shopping alley off of 11th and Santee streets in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, representatives from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and others roped off 11th Street between Maple and Santee for several hours while sifting through suspected illegal merchandise.
“We are targeting DVDs and some intellectual property and appear to be getting a lot more than we expected,” said one agent involved with the raid. The source said several suspects were expected to be arrested.
The Santee area has been a target for counterfeit goods in the past. Two years ago, the Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District, in conjunction with the MPAA and the LAPD, set up street-surveillance cameras to thwart the activity, but it still persists, costing the motion picture and apparel industries millions of dollars in lost revenue annually.—Robert McAllister
