Tokyo Customs has reported a 44-year-old male company employee, Takuya Tamura, to the Fukushima District Public Prosecutors Office for violating the Customs Law in Japan. He is suspected of selling counterfeit jerseys of Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani from the Los Angeles Dodgers, which were smuggled from China, making illegal profits of around 3 million yen (approximately 20,000 USD).
According to reports from NHK and Kyodo News, Tamura, who resides in Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture, attempted to smuggle 34 sets of counterfeit Ohtani jerseys from the Dodgers and his former team, the Angels, from China on five different occasions between January 18th and 26th this year. The jerseys also bore the Nike logo, raising suspicions of violations of the Customs Law.
The Customs officials at Narita Airport discovered the jerseys during inspection, noting that the stitching, packaging, and overall quality of the counterfeit jerseys were noticeably inferior compared to genuine products.
During the investigation, Tamura admitted that he was “trying to make ends meet by selling counterfeit goods.” He is believed to have made profits of 3 million yen through online sales of fake products.
Tamura was arrested earlier this month by the Fukushima Prefectural Police, and a total of 360 counterfeit jerseys were found at his residence, including fake jerseys of Dodgers pitcher Yudai Yamamoto.
(Source: Central News Agency)