…It looks just like the new ‘it’ bag splashed all over Vogue this month, but you don’t have a spare £3000 floating around in your pocket so this offer is too good to miss. Sound familiar? Oh yes. Harmless bargain shopping? Apparently not, as evidence has shown that you are not only funding your inner bargain queen, but the Al-Qaeda. Kyrsty Hazell reports.
No one can resist a bargain, especially when faced with the exclusive new Fendi bag which in Selfridges, would cost over £3000, but on ‘Freddies discount stall’ a mere 20 quid. Sound too good to be true I know, but millions of these replicas have been appearing in markets all over the world for years, and at first it seemed like harmless purchasing. With Turkey selling the new Louis Vuitton and Gold Gucci bag for ‘2 for a tenner’, it is easy to see why so many women give in to temptation. I have been guilty of buying fake designer bags after my trips to New York and Turkey as I couldn’t possibly afford the real McCoy. The material is real leather, the detailing is exactly the same as the original, even down to the last stitching making the decision even easier to make. However, recent research has shown that many women thinking that they have made an innocent purchase have in fact been playing a role in funding the Al-Qaeda.{mosimage}
According to Interpol, North African radical fundamentalist groups in Europe, Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah all derive income from counterfeiting. John Newton, an Interpol officer, says, “This crime has the potential to become the preferred source of funding for terrorists.†Similar payments are also suspected in Pakistan, which has a thriving counterfeit trade. Nisar Sarwar, head of Pakistan’s Royal IPR Security Services, which investigate fake handbags said, “It is now a menace. In every street you find people making fake labels. More a less every brand is copied here and is very hard to tell the difference, which is why so many people buy them.†But surely one little handbag wouldn’t harm anyone? Well yes it would because research has also shown that it isn’t only handbags that make money, but watches, jewellery, perfume and sporting clothes. The profits alone on these goods are enough to fund the smallest of terrorist’s acts.{mosimage}
“Counterfeiting is a dark and growing threat to legitimate businesses and law abiding societies everywhere,†says Police commissioner Raymond Kelly. Due to the links to Hamas and Hezbollah groups as well as the vast amounts of money it is making, the pose of danger is becoming greater by the year. Terrorists are lured to counterfeiting by its anonymity. This cash only business has no paper trail and no evidence to who has actually sold them.
{mosimage}An example of links to the Al-Qaeda came when Sheik Ahmed Abdel Rahman, the blind cleric, was arrested in New York after the FBI seized 100,000fake Nike and Olympic Tshirts after it was discovered that he planned to bomb New York City landmarks. Another disturbing case came when evidence was found that the World Trade Centre bombing in 1993 was funded by the sales from a counterfeit textile store in Broadway.
Top designers, including Burberry and Louis Vuitton, whose logos and print have been copied the most over the years, are giving out warnings about the profits being made and the threat that they may being used for funding purposes. The warning, backed by Interpol, comes amid rising concern about the number of counterfeit items imported into Britain, as seizures of fashion copies have more than tripled since 2001. The designers are urging customers to think about who the profits from the sale of the fake bag are going to. Stuart Lockyear, director of intellectual property at Burberry said, “The links of counterfeiting with terrorist organisations are becoming much clearer. People need to think about where the moneys going and the often appalling conditions in which these items are produced.†Louis Vuitton confirmed that they were aware of the situation and urge people to think twice.
{mosimage}Whether you need the bag or not, next time you think about purchasing a fake designer bag think about this: Could the sale of this bag be going towards another organised attack like 7/7 attacks on London? Are these people laughing all the way to the bank because of our lack of knowledge and our constant need for the latest fashion bag? If the answer is yes to both questions, then surely it is time to stop helping these barbaric criminals and do something to stop it: Buy the real thing. At least this way you can ensure your money is going into safe hands (Mr.Vuitton&co) and you get a cute carrier bag, which must be better than the white Sainsbury’s bag you usually get it in. Plus, saving your money for something like a designer bag can be very rewarding, so start counting your pennies!
By Kyrsty Hazzell.
