LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - Police seized more than $450,000 dollars worth of counterfeit merchandise from the Lawrence Flea Market, according to Lawrence Police Chief Maurice Aguiler.
Aguiler said officers seized more than 2,800 items that were supposed to look like UGG, Nike, or Adidas shoes and apparel from a vendor on Manchester Street.
“In regard to links to organized crime, a lot of these goods are organized, they are used by organized crime organizations for money laundering purposes,” said Aguiler. “A lot of them have exploitative elements to it like human trafficking and so on.”
Aguiler said their investigation began in September, 2025 after the Lawrence police department got a tip from a law firm specializing in counterfeit cases.
“There are a lot of impacts with regards to counterfeit goods. There’s economic considerations, there’s safety considerations, legal considerations and yes even ethical considerations,” he said.
Three people are now facing criminal charges.
Aguiler said by law, the counterfeit goods cannot be donated. The victims in this case, the brands the items were meant to look like, choose what happens with the merchandise. He said the brands chose to have the goods incinerated.
“Obviously the destruction has a complete and final result that they will not be back in circulation, they will not be resold,” said Aguiler. “And so that’s one of the reasons. That’s obviously by statute and if they request it to be destroyed we will destroy it.”
Aguiler said more arrests may be made and more charges may be filed as the investigation continues.
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