An Austrian tourist was fined about $1,200 in the Italian resort city of Jesolo for buying a counterfeit designer bag from a beach peddler, the Corriere del Veneto newspaper reported.
Police said the 65-year-old woman, who bought a fake Louis Vutton bag for 7 euros (some $8) from a huckster of Senegalese origin, was "furious" to see an administrative offense report, according to which she was to pay a fine of 1,000 euros, RIA Novosti.
She was explained that according to a law which came into force several years ago both seller and buyer of counterfeit goods are punished.
"Tourists think they are doing a favor to these vendors but instead, by doing so, they help only criminal organizations that exploit [immigrants]," the city's councilor for security, Andrea Bocco, said.
"Throughout the summer we will continue fighting this illegal trade with zero tolerance," he added.