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.
really??? You morons are complaining about the government doing it’s job? They arrested people for selling counterfeit goods which is ………..illegal!!!!!!! If they had raided them just for being there or not having a permit or other such stupid c**p I could understand but essentially the place was raided and people arrested for selling stolen goods.
curious as to what national security threat was invoked from a flea market sale & why is it these idiots have this time to screw off with our borders wide open & terrorists entering every second ?
What the hell does this have to do with securing the homeland ?
You forgot they also raid garage sales for Chinese produced toys with lead in them. If found YOU get a huge FINE for selling lead tainted children’s toys.
Commutes make them send them here and our government comes and attacks you the citizen.
Hope you like your changed transformed America
Washington, D.C. Is nothing but bought and paid for politicians that has sold the people out. Both sides are greedy money hungry crooks. And as far as dhs goes get used to it. Any government agency that has three letters is now armed and ready for the police state to be implemented in this country. It’s already started look at Kim Davis being arrested. Never in the history in the USA has that happened. Persecution is coming to the United States like it or not . We as a nation have sit back and allowed every thing that is going on now happen. There people’s rites and the cons$#%&!@*ution being violated everyday . Our freedom is being taken every day . It’s sad to see what our founding fathers and all the veterans fought for slip away. We handed them everything cause we thought everything was fine. It’s not just look around our country and you see tyranny at its finest
Why now to much overreach
Customs is part of DHS it is responsible for stopping counterfeit products
@[1772408052:2048:Joseph F Ridolfi III]
This was not some “mom and pop” operation. It was “the big guys”. The Truth in Action article left out a few very important details, about 30,000,000 of them
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/05/23/30-million-in-counterfeit-goods-seized-in-lawrence-flea-market-raid/
Good