Paris prosecutors for the manufacture and sale of counterfeit Hermes (Hermès)
The leader of the gang of handbags delivered a verdict, including some of the former employees of Hermes.
A total of 10 criminal gangs were tried. They sold counterfeit Hermes handbags to Asian tourists in Paris and consumers in Hong Kong in 2013 and 2014. Seven of the gang are former employees of Hermes.
Initially, a man was suspected of selling stolen Hermes handbags in Asia. The French police eavesdropped on his house and found that the gang had produced dozens of fake Hermes platinum bags (Birkin) at home.
The prosecutor said that the gang sold fake bags at a price of 23,500 to 32,000 euros per piece, and could make an annual profit of about 2 million euros.
They obtained crocodile skin raw materials from Italian suppliers, smuggled zippers and other parts from Hermès factories, and hand-sewn them by 4 skilled leather workers using Hermès’ signature stitching method.
One of them is a 52-year-old Cambodian woman who has lived in France since 1980. Her task is to resell fake and real platinum bags together to customers. She told investigators that customers knew they were buying fakes.
Another 45-year-old …