The Dept. of Homeland Security, along with local law enforcement, raided a flea market this past weekend near Lawrence, Mass., arresting 40 people for selling counterfeit goods.
Since when is DHS suppose to be raiding flea markets? Aren’t they suppose to be tracking down terrorists? Oh wait, that’s what the Muslim Brotherhood organization considers Americans to be.
LAWRENCE — Police, joined by agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, arrested 40 people for selling counterfeit items at two flea markets yesterday.
“This is an effort to support local, legitimate businesses who have complained of these individuals selling bogus merchandise,” Interim Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick said of the sweep last night.
“Over the course of several months, we targeted individual selling counterfeit goods and counterfeit intellectual property. Our investigation culminated with the arrests of over 40 people involved in selling these illicit items,” he said. “In recent history, I believe this is probably the largest raid in Massachusetts involving counterfeit goods.”
The raids began at about 11 a.m. yesterday and lasted through late afternoon. The raids took place at Don Flea Market at 85 Manchester St., and Lawrence Flea Market and Auction House at 468 N. Canal St, near the Falls Bridge, according to Fitzpatrick. The Police Department used several vans, some of them loaned by the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, to transport the defendants to the Lawrence Police Department, where they were being booked last night.
Fitzpatrick said he believed that most of those charged were from out of town.
“The Department of Homeland Security was the lead with Lawrence Police Department,” said Carrie Kimball-Monahan, spokeswoman for Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office.
“We were part of the investigation and we will prosecute,” she said.
Police referred all comments on the raid to federal authorities. Calls to the U.S. Attorney’s office and Homeland Security were not returned.
Fitzpatrick said federal agents planned to wait until tomorrow before issuing a press release about yesterday’s raids.
“There’s a great deal of evidence that needs to be cataloged,” Fitzpatrick said of the items seized. Some of the counterfeit items sold were fake lines of clothing, he said.
I’m all for busting people committing fraud, but why is DHS involved? If they came across a lead they should have given it to local law enforcement. If the good crossed state lines, they could call the FBI. IT’S WHAT THEY DO. I see zero reason for DHS pursuing this directly.
It’s a good start.
China is manufacturing and selling Eotech, Troy industries, MagPul knockoffs as well as thousands of other American companies products.
LMAO
Homeland Security is protecting us from knock-off clothes?
Were there terrorists in the clothes?
Thank you George Bush, I feel so much more secure now!
Flea markets, the new biggest threat to our security!
David Bray Obama does not have more exec orders than ALL others combined–thats laughable. Reagan had 381 compared to Obamas 216 FDR had the most at 3,721 covering 12 years of the Great depression & WW2 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/orders.php
Any idiot that thinks they are getting quality merchandise (instead of a cheap knock off) at a flea market is downright ignorant. But I think one would agree, DHS has bigger fish to be frying…
I did thank Mr. Bush for DHS and for the Patriot Act, when it first happened. However, under the current admin, it has grown way beyond what it was set up to be. Just because a good man attempted to protect our nation against terrorists does not give a terrorist sympathiser the right to take away our cons$#%&!@*utional rights.
In case you’re wondering why homeland security was responsible for raiding the flea market they are tasked with protecting intellectual property rights. You can read it on their website http://www.ice.gov/hsi
HSI has broad legal authority to enforce a diverse array of federal statutes. It uses this authority to investigate all types of cross-border criminal activity, including:
Financial crimes, money laundering and bulk cash smuggling;
Commercial fraud and intellectual property theft;
Cybercrimes;
Human rights violations;
Human smuggling and trafficking;
Immigration, do$#%&!@*ent and benefit fraud;
Narcotics and weapons smuggling/trafficking;
Transnational gang activity;
Export enforcement; and,
International art and antiquity theft.
Go capture isis followers here on our soil and leave us alone!