Cops Seize Thousands Of Dollars In Counterfeit Goods

REVERE, Mass. -- Thousands of counterfeit handbags and jewelry are off the streets Tuesday morning after police found the illegal goods at a storage facility in Revere.

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Gail Huff Reports On Investigation

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that the bags, watches, sunglasses and other knockoff items were found in a storage facility on Route 1 in Revere, and police said the merchandise had a street value of more than $3 million.

"The items seized included handbags, wallets, scarves, watches from such manufacturers as Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Prada and other," said Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley.

There were more than 46,000 items seized, all of them reproductions of popular fashion designs that are made in China and sold by mail, at house parties and flea markets.

Police arrested three Vietnamese Americans in connection with the case -- Kamp Luong, her sister Katherine, and Katherine's boyfriend, Minh Vu.

Inside the trio's Chelsea, Mass., home investigators said they found $46,000 in cash. Ordered to release their passports and post $10,000 cash bail, they're awaiting trials.

Recently, designer companies who produce the merchandise have banned together to fight fraud by hiring their own undercover investigators. Police said gangs smuggle the bags into the U.S. from China. According to a private investigator interviewed by NewsCenter 5 several months ago, the proceeds are used to fund illegal activities.

"What they're funding are gangs from New York to California, they're funding issues like 9/11, and other gang-related issues ... terrorism," said investigator Andrea Powers.

The district attorney's office said they have been investigating the case for several weeks.