The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has uncovered a racket involving the sale of counterfeit luxury watches, defrauding both reputed international brands and unsuspecting customers. In a major crackdown, five traders were arrested for allegedly selling fake watches under the names of prestigious foreign companies.
The accused have been identified as Munaf Abdul Qadir Ghoghari, Jagdish Tagaram Purohit, Mangalram Saremalji Purohit, Ahmed Umar Halai, and Hitesh Pukhrajbhai Purohit. Police seized a total of 1,482 fake watches from their possession, with an estimated market value of around ₹3.5 crore.
The case came to light after Mahesh Vishnu Kamble, a resident of Shivajinagar in Pune and an employee of a well-known private company dealing in foreign watches, received information that counterfeit versions of his company's products were being sold at Al-Saba Market in Mumbai. He lodged a formal complaint with the EOW.
Acting swiftly, a police team raided shops numbered 123, 124, 125, 131, and 135 at Al-Saba Market. During the raid, the police recovered a large stock of fake watches bearing the names of top international brands such as Longines, Rado, Audemars Piguet, and Casio. The watches were found to be in violation of copyright and trademark laws.
Investigations revealed that the arrested traders were fully aware the watches were counterfeit. Despite this, they falsely marketed the items as genuine foreign-brand products and sold them at discounted rates, thereby deceiving customers and causing losses to the original brands.
An FIR has been registered against the accused at the LT Marg Police Station. The case has now been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing for further investigation. The five arrested traders were produced in court on Thursday, where the magistrate remanded them to police custody.