LOS ANGELES (CNN) – A Los Angeles Police Department task force seized $700,000 worth of counterfeit makeup from the city’s fashion district Thursday night.
The LAPD’s Anti-Piracy Unit raided 21 locations in the city’s downtown fashion district and seized fake cosmetics imitating popular brands like Urban Decay, NARS and MAC.
Officials said some of the products were contaminated with bacteria and human waste. The investigation was initiated after customers called the actual cosmetic companies with complaints about rashes and bumps caused by the products.
One detective said the price tells you if a product is real or not.
“The price pretty much tells you. If you’re getting something that’s 50 percent off, 75 percent off – it tells you that it’s bad,” Detective Rick Ishitani of the LAPD said.
“Those feces will just basically somehow get mixed into the product they’re manufacturing in their garage or in their bathroom – wherever they’re manufacturing this stuff,” he continued.
Six owners of raided companies were arrested while the rest received cease-and-desist orders.
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