Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose and Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino report the arrest of Mr. Elhadji Dieng (left), 59, and Mr. Abdou Gueye (right), 62, both of Newark, by members of the Newark Police Division and Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (ECPO) as part of a downtown clean-up operation yesterday.
The operation, conducted to address quality of life issues in the downtown area, included officers of the Newark Police Division’s Metro Downtown Task Force with the assistance of members of the ECPO and Allegiance Investigation Company, which conducts investigations of counterfeit merchandise.
Accoriding to Police, at approximately 1:45 p.m., detectives observed two vendors separately selling counterfeit purses in the area of Broad and Market streets.
Police said the vendors, Dieng and Gueye, were both arrested and are charged with Trademark Violation.
A total of 285 purses were seized during the operation police said.
These charges are merely accusations.
Each suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
“I commend members of the Metro Downtown Task Force, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and Allegiance Investigations for their hard work in safeguarding the public from counterfeit merchandise,” Director Ambrose said.
“These operations also support vendors of legitimate products who serve Newark residents and visitors in the downtown area.”