NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- The NYPD seized $35 million worth of counterfeit goods and arrested 18 people along Canal Street in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday.
The counterfeit goods included hundreds of knockoff luxury items, from handbags to sunglasses that were being sold on the streets illegally.
"This is an area here where the sellers are very condensed, you have numerous sellers blocking the entrances to numerous places of business," NYPD Deputy Chief Timothy Baudette said in a video posted to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell’s account on Instagram.
Police explained in the video that they’d received plenty of complaints from the community. In addition to the 18 arrests, police seized three truckloads of counterfeit goods.
Most of the suspects were charged with trademark counterfeiting.