Charity’s Christmas windfall from counterfeit goods

A Galway charity is to get a job lot of sporting clothes and goods for Christmas – after a street trader was caught red-handed with an estimated €65,000 worth of counterfeit sports gear in the back of his van.

The tracksuits and runners, which carry counterfeit Adidas and Nike logos, have now been donated to the St Vincent de Paul Society in time for Christmas – against the wishes of the two sports clothing giants who wanted the goods destroyed.

Garda Mark Kelly, who found the goods, asked Judge Rory McCabe at Galway Circuit Criminal Court to make an order directing the goods be donated to the charity as it would be a waste to have them destroyed.

Casual trader, Eddie Ward (43), 17 St. Finbarr’s Terrace, Bohermore, who was fined €7,500, agreed it was a good idea they go to the St. Vincent de Paul.

Ward pleaded guilty moments before his trial was due to begin before the court last July to the fraudulent application of trademarks at Bothar na dTreabh on March 16, 2017, by having in his possession 34 boxes of footwear and several tracksuits all purporting to be Adidas goods, as well as several pairs of Nike runners and tracksuits, each bearing trademarks while he was not entitled to use said trademarks.

See full court report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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