Toronto mall ranked one of world's worst for counterfeit goods

The U.S. government has pegged a popular Toronto area shopping centre as one of the world's worst offenders when it comes to selling pirated and counterfeit goods.

Described as "the largest Chinese mall in the western world" with a "pervasive" counterfeit sales scene, it's the only Canadian establishment named in the office of the United States Trade Representative's annual Notorious Markets List.

Any guesses? Yeah, it's Pacific Mall in Markham.

"With over 270,000 square feet of retail space and more than 500 small shops, the sale of counterfeit goods at Pacific Mall in Ontario is sprawling," reads the report, noting it has been "a well-known market for the sale of counterfeit and pirate goods for over a decade."

"Vendors in Pacific Mall appear to operate largely with impunity, and requests for assistance from local law enforcement have reportedly gone unanswered," the report continues. 

"Many of the counterfeit goods including cosmetics, sunglasses, and fragrances pose a risk to public health and safety."

Pacific Mall was one of only 18 physical markets highlighted in this year's Notorious Markets report, alongside 25 online markets that are "reported to be engaging in and facilitating substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting."

Other offenders in the physical category include two large markets in Mexico, two in Vietnam, one in Italy, one in India, and at least six in China.