Editor’s Note
This report details a police operation in Madrid targeting a store allegedly selling counterfeit luxury jewelry. The case highlights ongoing efforts to combat the trade in fake goods, which often misleads consumers and infringes on intellectual property rights.
The Municipal Police of Madrid have uncovered a luxury jewelry store in Usera that was selling counterfeit items as if they were originals, at prices typical of the high-end market. The establishment, known as Joyería Chapulín and located at 49 Mariano Vela Street, offered the public pieces with logos of high-end brands such as Cartier, Chanel, Versace, Rolex, or Louis Vuitton, without any packaging, labels, or certificates of authenticity.
The police intervention took place around 12:00 PM yesterday during an inspection by the Usera District Comprehensive Police Station, specifically from its Citizen Service Office (OAC), with the support of a commercial expert. The action was carried out after officers detected several pieces of alleged luxury jewelry in the store’s window whose characteristics raised doubts about their authenticity.
During the inspection, the worker in charge of the business voluntarily agreed to open the safe, where dozens of items were stored and reviewed one by one by the officers. Among the seized pieces were Versace rings allegedly valued between 1,200 and 1,400 euros, Van Cleef earrings, Mercedes-Benz pendants priced up to 1,100 euros, Ferragamo and Disney watches, Cartier bracelets valued at over 600 euros each, and other objects with logos from brands like Rolex, Chanel, or Louis Vuitton.
According to the police report, most of these products lacked any authentication measures: no labels, packaging, security seals, or certificates. The store manager stated that all the jewelry was purchased
without distinguishing prices by brand or requiring documentation about their origin.
The commercial expert concluded that there were “rational indications of falsity” in all the analyzed objects. Given this assessment, a second patrol was sent to a workshop linked to the jewelry store, located in the Tetuán district. The inspection there found no irregularities or suspicious items.
Neither the manager nor the business owner—both born in the Dominican Republic but with Spanish nationality, aged 54 and 33 respectively—were arrested, although they are being investigated for an alleged crime against industrial property. This type of offense includes the manufacture, storage, or sale of counterfeit products without authorization from the trademark holders, with the intent of profit and causing harm to third parties.
All the seized items have been sealed and made available to the Usera Police Station for analysis, while the investigation continues. According to information confirmed by this newspaper, the establishment also operated a website where it guaranteed that all its products were “100% original.”