Last November, the State Police, in cooperation with the State Revenue Service, discovered premises in the Dārzciems residential area of Riga where counterfeit Ariel products with unknown properties and potential harm to health were packed and stored.
The criminal activities are estimated to have caused more than €739,000 of damage to The Procter & Gamble Company which produces Ariel.
On November 10, 2023, a Polish citizen, the driver of a Scania truck, born in 1986, was arrested. A substance similar to washing powder "Ariel" with signs of counterfeiting was found in the vehicle.
After the seizure of the powder, other members of the criminal group, in order to smuggle out the remaining products and packages, thus covering their tracks, came from Lithuania in two trucks with semi-trailers to a warehouse in Riga, Dārzciems, where washing powders and liquids were stored and packaged.
The persons were detained by police officers during the loading of the counterfeit products.
Two Lithuanian citizens, members of an international criminal group, born in 1978 and 1990, allegedly involved in the production of these products, were detained and taken to a short-term detention center.
The criminal police officers searched the premises in Dārzciems, where counterfeit washing powders and liquids were stored and packaged, illegally using the trademark "Ariel". They also seized approximately 22,000 kg of substances similar to laundry detergent powder and liquid.
On November 8 this year, the investigation was completed and the criminal proceedings against the two Lithuanian citizens, born in 1978 and 1990, were transferred to the Riga Eastern Prosecutor's Office.
The information obtained during the investigation shows that the suspects committed the crime by prior agreement with other persons not identified during the investigation, knowingly, illegally counterfeiting, and distributing trademarks.
