German customs have seized two lorries full of fake branded clothes worth over GBP 2.8 million.

Customs officers in Dresden caught the first truck attempting to smuggle clothes – including forged Nike, Adidas, Levis and Puma items – on Monday, 1st August, 2022.

Officers had decided to have a look in the back of the truck after the driver – who had come from Turkey – failed to provide adequate documentation.

Inside they found 13,300 T-shirts, 3,900 training jackets, 2,800 sweaters, 2,000 track pants, 79 pairs of shoes, 66 pairs of jeans and 40 training suits.

Detailed examinations showed that the clothing was manufactured to resemble designs from 12 well-known brand manufacturers.

Experts estimated its worth at over EUR 1.5 million (GBP 1.3 million).

The second truck – which had come from Poland – was caught on its way to France by officers from the Goerlitz Traffic Routes Control Unit on Wednesday, 7th September.

Philipp Mitteldorf from the Main Customs Office Dresden said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “When the cargo hold was opened, the colleagues discovered numerous packages, accompanied by a pungent chemical odour from the cargo area.

“This prompted the [officers’] instinct and an initial suspicion that something was wrong with the load and the packages were consequently opened.”

Officers found over 9,500 pairs of shoes forged to resemble a well-known brand manufacturer’s design inside the cargo area.

Their value was estimated at EUR 1.7 million (GBP 1.5 million).

The Dresden Customs Investigation Office has launched an investigation into the two incidents.