FREE!
Your English Newspaper
NORTH EDITION roundtownnews.com
Issue 717
12-18 JULY 2013
Clampdown on illegal traders by Jack Troughton
Paige enjoying a kiss
Give us a cuddle By Jack Troughton YOUNG RTN reporter Paige enjoyed a special day out at Aqua Natura and made a new best friend when the nine-year-old and brother Luke, 6, met the water park’s sea lions. Read about their adventure in the Benidorm Weekender on page 35.
See page 70
PIRATE TRADERS flooding a Costa Blanca resort with fake designer goods face tough new penalties following complaints by legitimate businesses. Calpe has become a haven for street sellers touting a range of imitation goods as they target the holiday hotspot. During the day tourists face a stream of ‘lookee lookee’ men on the beach, at night they blatantly set up ‘shop’ on the town’s promenades – yards from legitimate premises - or wander through bars and restaurants. However, the town council is hoping to pass by-laws that will see the pirates hit with fines of between 200€ and 300€. The current penalty is just 23€. The local authority is also understood to be discussing fines for people buying counterfeit goods from the illegal street sellers. Police are also stepping up patrols to increase a visible presence on the seafront and the Guardia Civil is investigating the supply chain in a bid to track down the people behind the forgeries. Valencia is one of the country’s worst areas for crimes against intellectual property rights and fake goods valued at 11 million Euros were seized last year. Spain also remains one of the top countries in the world
for her counterfeit market. Calpe business association AEMCO has organised a petition calling for urgent action to be taken to combat the pirates – who pay no tax or social security and contribute nothing to the local economy. COUNTERFEIT AEMCO complained that the most common counterfeit goods were DVDs and CDs; t-shirts and polo shirts; watches; sunglasses; and fake designer handbags. And as an example of the extent of the crisis, RTN was told how during the Easter holidays a party of 6,000 Portuguese students visited Calpe and left sporting a pair of fake designer sunglasses. “Every year a lot of these illegal traders come here from along the coast – you can see them arrive at the train station every evening carrying huge bags stuffed with counterfeits,” said association secretary Jose Gilabert. “It is a big problem for our members as to how to take any action – these people can be very aggressive and we have no authority to move them on, we need police help.” Jose, an optician, said as an example the fake sunglasses could damage people’s sight. “I see youngsters who have done damage to their eyes because they wear these cheap fakes. Continued on page 6