Vietnam seizes 1,500 fake Nike, Adidas, New Balance shoes in IP crackdown - VnExpress International

Nearly 1,500 pairs of counterfeit branded shoes and sandals seized in raids in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo courtesy of HCMC Police

Police in Ho Chi Minh City have detained the owner of a three-store sneaker chain for industrial property infringement after raids turned up nearly 1,500 pairs of counterfeit Nike, Adidas, New Balance and Onitsuka Tiger shoes worth more than VND3.3 billion (US$125,000).

Nguyen Tran Viet Hoang, 33, the registered owner of the K.W Sneaker chain, was detained on May 20 by the Economic Police Division under Ho Chi Minh City Police after officers raided three K.W Sneaker locations across the city simultaneously.Hoang told investigators he began selling counterfeit footwear in February 2023, sourcing his stock through online groups on social media with no invoices or origin documentation. He admitted he knew the goods were fakes but said the lower wholesale prices, easy resale and high margins kept him in the business, according to police. Investigators estimate the chain has moved thousands of pairs to date, generating more than VND1 billion ($38,000) in illicit profit.

Police search a store selling fake "branded" shoes in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Video courtesy of HCMC PoliceThe raid is the kind of action Vietnamese authorities have promised more of in recent weeks.On May 5, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung ordered ministries and provincial governments to mount a coordinated 45-day enforcement push from May 7 to 30. The directive instructs ministries to lift IP enforcement actions by at least 20% compared with May 2025 and applies to all forms of trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, both in physical markets and online.In Ho Chi Minh City, the police have started a 45-day intensive operation targeting commercial fraud and IP violations, under which the K.W Sneaker raid was conducted.Authorities urged consumers to be wary of suspiciously cheap products of uncertain origin and warned that trading in counterfeit goods would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of Vietnamese law, with no exceptions.