The Pacific Mall in Markham on May 27, 2025. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post

Robert Whalen spends countless hours combing through stalls and stores for counterfeit goods and knockoff brands at the Pacific Mall in Markham, Ont.

The large mall in suburban Toronto has long held a reputation as a place to find fake-branded footwear, apparel, electronics, phone cases and other goods. So much so that it has faced widely publicized police raids, parliamentary hearings and an untold number of sting operations conducted by private investigators on behalf of the world’s biggest brands during the past couple of decades.

“I have to say that mall made me a lot of money as an investigator because I was there all the time,” the former police detective turned private investigator said. “I’m

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