Arlington police detectives seized more than $650,000 in counterfeit fashion merchandise from Creo Piece, an online business operating out of North Texas. The business owner was arrested last week on a trademark counterfeiting charge.
Oumar Dia, 35, is accused of illegally manufacturing and selling items that displayed copyrighted logos for several high-end fashion brands. Per the warrant-affidavit, Dia sold counterfeit Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Versace — among others.
The investigation yielded one of the largest seizures of counterfeit merchandise in department history, police said.
Arlington police said they began investigating Creo Piece earlier this summer, with several undercover officers making luxury fashion purchases from the company. Counterfeiting experts confirmed to the department that the items were unlicensed and fraudulent.
Authorities obtained a search warrant for Creo Piece’s warehouse on Aug. 2. The warehouse — located on the 500 block of Prairie St. — contained 75 large boxes of merchandise, an embroidery machine and a heat transfer printing machine. Police seized a total of 101,118 items.
Based on the business’ website, authorities believe all items seized were for sale.
Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Dia on Aug. 8. He was taken into custody and booked at Dallas County Jail, but has since been bonded out.
The investigation was a collaboration between the Arlington Police Department’s Economic Crimes Unit and Homeland Security Investigations.