4.5m bottles of bootleg perfume worth over $20m seized in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

DHA photo

Turkish police have captured 4.5 million bottles of illegally-produced perfume in Istanbul, the market value of which is estimated at over $20 million. The find is the largest such seizure in Turkey’s history.

The Istanbul Police Department’s intellectual property crime unit launched an operation at a warehouse in the Küçükçekmece district after receiving an anonymous tip-off, Doğan News Agency reported. 

While around a million bottles of fake fragrances by famous brands were found in the warehouse, police later discovered a tunnel leading to a connected depot where an additional 3.5 million bottles were stored, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. 

In addition to bottled cologne, police seized bottling devices, fake labels and tags. An unidentified suspect was also detained for involvement in the illegal production or selling of bootleg perfume.

Officials from the security department said the market value of the seized perfume had been determined at over 60 million Turkish Liras, equivalent to over $20 million. This marks the largest bootleg perfume operation in Turkey’s history. 

Upon a decision by the attorney general’s office, the bottled fragrances were loaded onto trucks before being burned, Anadolu Agency reported.