Georgia’s Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance has detained two Georgian citizens accused of illegally manufacturing and selling counterfeit products under the brands ‘Jacobs Monarch’ and ‘Raffaello’.
As the agency stated, the suspects operated an improvised facility in Tbilisi where they regularly produced sweets and instant coffee labeled with forged trademarks. During the search, investigators seized more than 10,000 counterfeit Jacobs Monarch coffee packets and over 2,400 fake Raffaello chocolates ready for sale.
Authorities also confiscated packaging materials, molds, labels, expired Kinder Schokolade sweet and industrial equipment used for production and labeling.
The case is being investigated under Article 196, Part 3 of Georgia’s Criminal Code which carries a sentence of three to five years in prison for large-scale trademark infringement.
The investigation continues to identify other individuals and outlets involved in the illegal distribution network.
