A Paterson store owner, who dwells in Totowa, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for conspiring to import and distribute counterfeit goods in the United States with the help of a Chinese business contact.

Aref Abuhadba, 49-year-old, exchanged numerous emails with a Chinese contact who, the FBI says sent “at least 70 containers of counterfeit Nike sneakers and Walt Disney products”.

The fake goods once freed from the port were to be sold around the country as genuine products.

In one instance one of the containers brimmed with fake goods was seized by the authorities in California, and “It was found to contain more than 10,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike Air Force One sneakers bearing various Nike trademarks. The cost of the goods seized was $201,600, and their retail value was approximately $1.5 million,” according to the FBI.

Mr Abuhadba may face “maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000″.