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.
Yes, something needs to be done about illegally selling counterfeit goods, but DHS? You are right! They are suppose to be protecting us from terrorists not thieves who sell junk products at flea markets! I thought that would come under the FBI. I guess they are stretched too thin investigating and tracking known terrorists in the US that Holder made this a DHS matter. Everything in government is backward. The IRS is over seeing healthcare coverage? How crazy is that? Our government is too big and so screwed up at this point it will take 50 years to turn it around.
Worry about illegal products but not illegal immigrants
INSANITY AT ITS FINEST!
You do not have to go to a flea market to buy counterfeit products–Go to Manhattan Canal Street and buy Rolex watches for $5 –that is a great way to get someone killed by wearing one of them.
Well, they should be able to round up a lot of Illegals.
Savva Constantinou
Or maybe they are targeting researched outlets for clothing made by women in hostage… Slave labor is a real thing and human trafficking is as well. Do you really know where your clothes come from?
I don’t think the DHS is that altruistic in its targets.
Did you hear bushman
So not a job for the DHS in any way… Not their mandate, not their power, not their position in any way… FBI? Possibly but not the DHS… No possible way they should even have the time to perform acts not in their Job Desrcription… Yet shows they are merely a Force against the People