Cops Find Cache Of Counterfeits At Shop
A Maspeth man and a Corona woman who allegedly sold counterfeit high-tech devices from a Manhattan store were arrested by police last Thursday, Feb. 9, during a raid of their business, it was announced.
Mo Ling, 36, of 58th Avenue in Maspeth and Cindy Liu, 25, of 108th Street in Corona face first-degree trademark counterfeiting charges after hundreds of fake earphones and Apple products were recovered by law enforcement agents during a raid of the shop they operated on West 28th Street in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.
Members of the 10th Precinct Conditions Unit, specifically Sgt. John O’Connell and Police Officers Douglas Rome and Ryan Lynch, conducted the raid of the shop at 221 West 28th St. at 1:40 p.m. last Thursday based on information obtained through previous arrests of individuals who allegedly possessed counterfeit items.
During the search, authorities said, the officers confiscated 4,200 counterfeit pairs of “Beats by Dr. Dre” headphones as well as 500 fake iPhones and iPods and 19 iPads.
The 10th Precinct’s Conditions Unit began their investigation in January and conducted surveillance operations along West 28th Street targeting stores believed to be selling counterfeit merchandise.
On Jan. 31, police said, the officers observed a male suspect walk out of Ling and Liu’s shop with a fraudulent iPhone. The suspect was later collared as he allegedly attempted to sell the device at the corner of Ninth Avenue and West 39th Street.
During their investigation, police contacted Apple, which verified that the iPhone recovered from the perpetrator was indeed counterfeit, law enforcement sources said.
Both Ling and Liu were arraigned last Friday, Feb. 10, in New York County (Manhattan) Criminal Court. Ling was ordered held on $10,000 bail or $3,500 cash, while Liu was ordered held on $7,500 bail or $2,500 cash.
