Vietnamese trade authorities seized nearly 50,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike and Air Jordan shoes in Ho Chi Minh City on July 16. Prompted by a U.S.
A cross-border intellectual property enforcement operation has laid bare an industrial-scale counterfeiting ring operating out of Vietnam. Working alongside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Vietnamese trade regulators uncovered a manufacturing facility that produced footwear so meticulously copied that authentication codes were duplicated directly from genuine retail products.
The Raid on MP Company and the Seized Inventory
The investigation culminated on July 16, when the Agency for Domestic Market Surveillance and Development—operating under Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade—raided the headquarters of MP Company in Ho Chi Minh City. The raid involved coordination with the Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention alongside local police forces.
Inspectors cataloged vast quantities of finished and semi-finished inventory bearing protected trademarks owned by Nike, including the core brand, Nike Air, and Air Jordan.
- 25,396 pairs of finished shoes bearing Nike and Air Jordan trademarks, valued at more than VND12.3 billion (US$467,300).
- 20,875 pairs of shoe uppers in the process of completion, valued at more than VND11.2 billion ($425,500).
- 10,800 pairs of shoe soles also awaiting final assembly.
When calculated against commercial retail levels, the total value of the seized goods surpassed VND100 billion, or approximately $3.8 million.
Subcontracting Disguises and Counterfeit Export Channels
Corporate representatives for MP Company defended their manufacturing lines by presenting a paper trail pointing to an external partner. Company officials told inspectors that the goods were produced under a formal subcontracting agreement signed with a foreign entity named F.C.T. Under this arrangement, the foreign partner supplied raw materials, while MP Company executed processing orders before returning the finished footwear for overseas export.
International Intelligence Networks and Enforcement Stakes
The investigation originated in June, when U.S. Homeland Security Investigations passed initial intelligence to Vietnam’s Department of Domestic Market Management and Development regarding a suspicious footwear operation targeting the U.S. consumer market. Regulators established a confidential surveillance plan to prevent suspects from clearing out inventory before inspectors could secure the site.
From an initial estimate of around 12,000 suspicious pairs of shoes, authorities determined that nearly 50,000 pairs were being produced and were virtually indistinguishable from genuine products to the naked eye. The verification process showed the case was much larger than the initial information, with authorities confirming that the authentication code of each pair had also been copied from authentic legitimate products.
The Agency for Domestic Market Surveillance and Development (DMS) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade smashed the counterfeit ring, noting the involvement of organizations and enterprises in the United States, China, and Vietnam in a complex, cross-border intellectual property violation.
Market surveillance forces and DMS authorities worked alongside HSI to draw up an inspection plan ensuring secrecy to prevent the risk of evidence being removed.
“The discovery is significant not only in terms of addressing an act of infringement, but has uncovered a method of violation that may still exist widely in the market, involving many parties and possibly collusion.”
Trần Hữu Linh, Director General of the Agency for Domestic Market Surveillance and Development
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