French police have seized 20 tonnes of miniature Eiffel Towers in a crackdown on the illegal souvenir trade in Paris.
Nine people – including vendors, wholesalers and intermediaries – were questioned and could face fast-tracked trials after a long-running investigation into the French capital’s black-market trade in trinkets.
Beneath the Eiffel Tower, or in parks near museums people are regularly found selling armfuls of miniature Eiffel Towers to tourists. The trinkets – from
keyrings to ornaments – can sell for as little as €1 for five and up to €10 for the largest models.
But those selling the miniature Eiffel Towers.
More than 1,000 boxes, containing a total of 20 tonnes of miniature Eiffel Towers, were seized from two depots and three shops in the Paris region.
The haul was estimated to be worth up to €800,000. Cars were also seized in the raids.
Guillaume Fauconnier of Paris police’s organised crime department told Le Parisien: “The 20 tonnes [of Eiffel Towers] are worth between €500,000 and €800,000 of merchandise. Searches also found machines for counting notes and coins. That gives an idea of the scale of this market.”