Italian police shut down fake Prada website

Italian police said on Friday they had shut down a website selling fake products carrying the high-fashion Prada label.

No figures on total sales were available, but police called the website "very sophisticated". It ran worldwide, using 90 service providers and standard electronic payment systems, and carried pictures of actual Prada products sold at prices in line with Prada's factory outlets, lending it credibility.

Police said they had traced a person in France's Loire region who had registered the website in the Netherlands and was using a server located in England.

The products were made in China's Guangdong region and shipped by international couriers from Hong Kong. They could not be delivered to clients unless duties were paid.

Inspectors from the Milanese fashion house were brought in to give an expert opinion on whether the goods were fake.

"The products, although very accurate in every detail, were not authentic. They were extremely well-made counterfeits," police said in a statement.