Canal Street raid nets $151M in bootleg goods in latest NYPD crackdown

The NYPD carried out another Canal Street raid on Thursday — seizing a whopping $151 million worth of knockoff Rolexes, fake fragrances, bootleg Knicks jerseys and other phony goods peddled on the infamous strip.Cops swarmed the Lower Manhattan stretch as part of an ongoing crackdown against illegal vendors that cramp the sidewalks, leading to quality of life complaints from locals.

Video of the 11:30 a.m.sweep shows New York’s Finest hauling out dozens of garbage bags filled with bogus merch along Canal Street, known as a hotspot for counterfeiters.

Beside the fake watches, jerseys and fragrances, cops also grabbed sunglasses, bags, and Labubu dolls, the NYPD said. The takedowns weren’t just limited to Canal Street.Raids against bootlegging operations on Hester, Mulberry, and West 27th Streets in Manhattan took place the same day.Cops also recovered $145,000 in cash during the sweep, the NYPD said.A total of 17 people were cuffed and charged with Trademark counterfeiting – a felony, police said. The raids in Lower Manhattan were the most recent in the department’s ongoing crusade to address quality of life concerns against counterfeiting and illegal vending in the neighborhood. “In response to complaints by local elected officials and community members regarding the proliferation of illegal street vending in lower Manhattan, particularly along Canal Street, the department has continued to take action to hold illegal vendors accountable and improve public safety conditions along those corridors,” an NYPD spokesperson said. Concerns about illegal vending and counterfeit goods have been a longtime concern of many in Lower Manhattan, from residents and local business owners, and has garnered the attention of the NYPD and local pols.  “Our community members deserve safe streets, and seeing it firsthand is critical in finding a solution,” Assemblymember Grace Lee said in an X post, which highlighted a walkthrough of the problematic corridor wit...