Charging the Culprit Behind 200,000 Counterfeit Nike and Adidas Socks

Hanoi City Police Investigation Agency has initiated a criminal case and prosecuted Nguyen Van Thien (born 1974, residing in Liep Nghia commune, Quoc Oai district, Hanoi) for the production and trading of a large number of counterfeit socks branded Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo.

Previously, on January 4, the Economic Police in collaboration with Team No. 19 of the Hanoi Market Management Department suddenly inspected the textile and garment business establishment in Van Khe village, Liep Nghia commune, Quoc Oai district, owned by Nguyen Van Thien.

At the time of the inspection, the authorities discovered and temporarily confiscated 3,450 pairs of Adidas-branded socks, 14,400 pairs of Nike-branded socks, 2,100 pairs of Uniqlo-branded socks, and 100 kg (equivalent to 1,500 pairs) of loose socks with the Nike logo (not yet in the product packaging process).

Along with that, there were 10 sock knitting machines, 2 sock head sewing machines, 200 metal foot molds without labels, 21 kg of Adidas labels, 48 kg of Nike Everyday labels, 10 kg of black thread, 58 kg of white yarn, 12 kg of red thread, 40 kg of gray yarn, and 40 kg of plastic bags.

According to the authorities, in 2015, Thien started producing socks in The Tru village, Liep Nghia commune, Hoai Duc district, Hanoi. Initially, Thien subcontracted sock production for some companies and produced and traded socks under the THIEN DUONG brand (the THIEN DUONG brand has been registered by Nguyen Van Thien for intellectual property rights at the National Office of Intellectual Property – Ministry of Science and Technology)

In 2018, noticing that socks with the Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo labels were popular and well-consumed in the market, Thien bought knitting machines of Chinese origin. At the same time, he asked the seller to preset the logos of these brands into the machine’s control software to produce counterfeit socks. Thien also hired four employees to operate the machines, pack, and produce counterfeit socks. In addition, the Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo labels were ordered and printed by Thien from unofficial sources in the market.

Counterfeit Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo socks were seized.

The investigation results determined that, from 2022 up to now, Thien has produced and consumed about 200,000 pairs of counterfeit socks of the above brands, with a total value of over VND 240 million in the market.

These products are mainly sold in bulk through e-commerce floors, social networks, and peripheral markets at a price of about 4,500 – 5,000 VND/pair (production cost is about 3,500 – 4,000 VND/pair)