More than 20,000 counterfeit goods destroyed

If you take a stroll along Torrevieja’s promenade or sit down to enjoy a quiet café con leche on the seafront, chances are that sooner rather than later you’ll be offered a wide variety of goods from gentlemen of African decent.

The main objects of desire; sunglasses and watches but also on offer are such goodies as perfumes, handbags, gold, jewellery and the ubiquitous DVD copy! The prices are ridiculously inexpensive and you get what you pay for, inferior goods that are more likely than not; fakes.

Even though these ‘looky-looky’ men are only trying to make a living, never seem to be too pushy or there to rob you through pick pocketing, what they are doing is illegal and Torrevieja Town Hall regularly confiscates the goods being sold, takes down a few names of the sellers and sends them on their way.

At least twice a year, Torrevieja’s Town Hall has a ritual crushing of the confiscated items, and such a day was held last week on Friday May 28 when the mayor of Torrevieja, Pedro Hernández Mateo, accompanied by the Director General of Local Police, Javier Minguez, the Principal Auditor Police, Vicente Gutierrez, and Mayor Alejandro Morera, visited Torrevieja’s Ecopark to witness the destruction of counterfeit goods. Hernández Mateo reported that Local Police officers conducted the confiscation of these items and these relate to seizures made since late 2009.

On Friday a total of 21,697 items were destroyed including 3,185 pairs of sunglasses, more than 7,000 counterfeit CDs, 9,835 Pirate Movie DVD’s, 689 counterfeit branded watches, 419 fake handbags, 124 purses, 50 counterfeit belts, 209 items of clothing, 161 caps and 25 pairs of counterfeit shoes. Mateo Hernandez highlighted the excellent work being done by agents of Torrevieja’s Local Police to eradicate illegal street trading.

Keith Nicol