Ho Chi Minh City Police said on July 3 they had launched criminal proceedings and charged Nguyen Duc Dao and Phan Thi Ha Ly, Dao's wife, with infringing industrial property rights.
Investigators had previously launched a special operation targeting a large scale network involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit branded clothing.
In late May 2026, officers raided a business registered under Ly's name on Nam Chau Street.
During the inspection, authorities caught the suspects allegedly producing counterfeit goods and seized nearly 10,000 finished T-shirts suspected of bearing fake trademarks of internationally recognised fashion brands, including Lacoste, Balenciaga, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Gap, New Era, Essentials, Louis Vuitton (LV), Polo Ralph Lauren, Zara and Armani. Investigators also confiscated a large quantity of labels, tags and packaging equipment.
Based on Dao's statements, investigators intercepted another shipment containing more than 4,000 counterfeit T-shirts that was being transported for distribution through a freight service.
A subsequent search of a contract garment workshop in Tan Phu Ward uncovered hundreds more products that were still in the final stages of production.
According to investigators, the couple admitted to operating the counterfeit network since early 2026.
Police said the pair sourced raw materials from multiple suppliers and outsourced individual stages of production, including sewing, logo embroidery and label attachment, to independent workshops. The products were then transported to a central warehouse for final assembly, packaging and distribution.
Authorities determined that a total of 14,426 counterfeit T-shirts bearing the trademarks of 11 major fashion brands protected in Vietnam had been seized. The shipment was estimated to be worth billions of Vietnamese dong.
The Economic Police Division of Ho Chi Minh City Police is continuing its investigation to identify others involved in the operation.
