Your claim that these designer items were picked up in Turkey is a cock-and-bull story
What judge told woman caught with fake bags, shoes and watches
A JUDGE has said that claims by a woman found with over 170 counterfeit designer items that she bought them in Turkey for €400 amounted to ‘a tissue of lies’ and ‘a cockand-bull story’ that the court cannot accept.
Noreen Stokes, 54, faced nine separate charges involving the possession of 172 counterfeit designer items when she appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Longford Circuit Court.
Stokes, of 2 Auburn Park, Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, was sentenced to 14 months in prison with 12 months suspended.
Stokes told a probation officer that she and a friend had travelled to Istanbul and purchased some handbags and accessories, which they brought home to keep or to give to family.
She said they spent a total of €400, the court heard.
However, Judge Connolly, after reading the probation report, said he found that to be ‘a tall tale’ considering the amount of items that were brought back.
‘All I can say is it’s an absolute cock-and-bull story and one the court cannot accept,’ he said.
Included among the items seized by gardaí were 106 counterfeit Louis Vuitton items, including shoes, handbags, boxes and clothes bags. There were 22 counterfeit Christian Louboutin items, including 12 pairs of shoes and 11 handbags. There were also 11 counterfeit Rolex watches seized, as well as one fake Gucci belt and five pairs of Gucci shoes.
Also seized were counterfeit Hugo Boss shoes, Burberry bags, five pairs of Christian Dior shoes, three Christian Dior handbags and Ben Sherman belts.
As part of the Garda investigation, photographs were forwarded to the various brands, who were able to confirm, by examining packaging, labelling and material, that the items were counterfeit.
When giving his evidence, Garda Pádraig McConnon told the court that when Stokes’s property was searched on November 18, 2020, a diary was found in the kitchen, detailing various sales.
When asked about the value of the items seized, Gda McConnon explained that, if genuine, one Louis Vuitton handbag would be worth over €5,000.
He said the Rolex watches, if genuine, would be worth between €5,000 and €11,000.
‘You’re talking astronomical amounts of money if they were original,’ he said.
He did, however, say that Stokes was generally ‘a pleasant woman’, who came from a Traveller family, originally from Co. Tyrone, where she still visits. He explained that he saw no obvious ‘trappings of wealth’ from the distribution of the counterfeit items.
In mitigation, the court heard that Stokes did not realise the extent of her crime and was under the impression that this was ‘a victimless crime’.
‘I’m at a loss as to where to start,’ said Judge Connolly of Stokes’ account of events detailed to the probation officer.
He added: ‘She must think the court and/or the probation officer came down in the last shower. The items constitute 172 items – some of them very bulky. If you divide 172 into €400, you get something short of €3 per item, which I simply don’t believe.’ He also stressed that the items would need to be carried in several suitcases, which Garda witnesses confirmed in their earlier evidence.
The maximum tariff for each charge is five years’ imprisonment or a fine of €130,000 – per count.
Stokes had been remanded in custody for several weeks while the judge decided how to handle the sentencing.
‘I would not have taken that course at all if she had shown some remorse and if she hadn’t fed the probation officer this tissue of lies. And that is what this is – a tissue of lies,’ said Judge Connolly at the time.
Returning to the matter yesterday, the judge noted that Stokes believed this was ‘a victimless crime’. He said he ‘could see where she’s coming from’ but that the crime was far from victimless.
‘Sometimes it’s not just the offending that has to be considered but also the attitude of the accused. The court has found her attitude almost as bad as the offence,’ said Judge Connolly.
‘Although she entered a plea of guilty, she still insisted in interview, for her own benefit with the probation officer, that this was a one-off offence. It is very unsatisfactory for the court if the court feels that someone who has committed a crime doesn’t think they’ve done anything wrong.
‘It is unfortunate that she could’ve come forward and said “mea culpa” but she thought she could hoodwink the court.’
One condition on the suspended sentence was that Stokes ‘refrain entirely’ from posting on social media or online sales tools such as DoneDeal.
‘I appreciate the court doesn’t always get 100% full facts but I am allowed to use common sense and I don’t accept that she had these items for anything other than commercial gain,’ the judge said.
Finally, Judge Connolly noted Stokes’s request that the items go to refugees from Gaza. He said that while that was honourable, a destruction order was to be made as they were counterfeit goods.
However, he said Stokes is to pay a sum of €5,000 to the International Red Cross, which he said was an ‘appropriate gesture’.
Stokes’s sentence was backdated to January 18, 2024, when she first went into custody.
‘Astronomical amounts of money ‘Thought she could hoodwink court’