Nintendo and Pokemon USA have just concluded a campaign to stop card counterfeiters in what is apparently a multi-million dollar industry counterfeiting Pokemon trading cards.

On March 26, law enforcement officials in New York raided seven stores known to be selling fraudulent Pokemon Trading Card Game merchandise. Thousands of products were seized, and several arrests were made. In early April, one action at a production facility in China secured nearly 1.2 million counterfeit cards and investigations continue.

During the past 16 months, more than 47 million counterfeit products have been seized at production facilities in Thailand, Singapore, Poland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Australia and China. One 2007 seizure in China netted more than 26 million illegally produced cards.

Nintendo says that it, along with Pokemon, will continue to target the retailers and manufacturers trafficking in counterfeit Pokemon product.

“Pokemon wants to send a message to importers and producers that we will not stand for the distribution of fraudulent Pokmon product,” says Pokemon spokesperson, J.C. Smith. “Pokemon is committed to ensuring our fans receive the quality product they've come to expect.”

Source: g4tv