Fake Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Hermes shoes among 1,520 pairs seized from Vietnamese store

In a crackdown on counterfeit goods, police in Can Tho City, Vietnam, seized over 1,500 pairs of shoes bearing prestigious brand names like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Hermes from a local store. The investigation, launched on August 14 by the city police's Economic Crime Division, is part of a broader campaign to combat intellectual property offenses.

The seized goods, valued between VND50 million to VND500 million (US$1,900 to 19,100) per pair, had no accompanying invoices or documentation proving their origin. Pham Van Tan, the 43-year-old store owner, could not present any evidence to support the legitimacy of his business, which reportedly earned more than VND200 million ($7,600) from selling counterfeit shoes.

Prior to this raid, police had already targeted a store named Thanh Duong Luxury on Tam Vu Street in Tan An Ward on June 5. Officers found four workers producing shoes falsely labeled as Hermes, Gucci, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Versace. These goods were sold on popular messaging apps for prices ranging from VND600,000 to VND2.2 million ($23 to $84) per pair.

The seized inventory, valued over VND1.4 billion ($53,400), included finished products, leather stock, cutting molds, and stamping machinery. The owner, Huynh Phuong Duy, 33, was arrested on August 11, along with another individual, Huynh Thanh Duong. A second store, Thanh Hien Luxury on Nguyen Binh Street in Cai Khe Ward, owned by Huynh Thanh Hien, 24, was also raided, resulting in the seizure of 2,949 items of falsely branded merchandise, including clothing, bags, hats, belts, and backpacks. The value of these goods exceeded VND1.9 billion ($72,500).