In Kurla, a multi-crore chor bazaar for footwear thrives

Mumbai, India – April 9, 2024: Shoes market out side the Kurla station west in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

The next time you find your fancy sandals missing at Siddhivinayak temple, you may not bother to lodge a police complaint. You may think someone had worn it thinking it to be theirs. And you may also believe that losing one’s footwear is a riddance of bad luck.

Police say that a well organised gang has likely spirited away your footwear for resale at Kurla. The modus operandi of the gang includes replacing the fancy ones with cheap ones to reinforce the victim’s belief that it was a case of mistaken identity, police say.

A thriving shoe in Kurla is in-part making use of the belief that “loss of shoes and chappals brings good luck.” The other part of the Kurla Shoe Market is, the police claim, does brisk business selling first copies – lookalikes – of branded shoes and sandals.

Recently, the Mumbai crime branch carried out a raid at the Kurla shoe market and seized ‘first copies’ of Adidas and Nike shoes and chappals worth ₹1.27 crore. Police say that their seizure was just indicative. “You name the brand, and you get it here. We have everything: Jordan, Puma, Adidas, Reebok, Under Armour…” a Kurla shoe market shopkeeper’s voice trails off as he proudly reels off the names of big brand footwear. And the range is just not regarding the brand but type too – running shoes, hiking shoes, sandals, flip-flops, loafers, ankle boots and sneakers.

The market is located in the narrow lanes just outside the busy Kurla railway station. The lanes are known as Haryanawala Lane, Pakitwala Chawl and Patel Mansion. Salesmen stand outside the 40 to 45 shops luring customers in. “While the outer parts of the market mostly sell first-copy products of branded shoes, priced between ₹300 to ₹10,000 or even more, the inside market resells stolen shoes and chappals. This inner part is conveniently called the Customs Market or the second-hand market as most of the shopkeepers here have licenses to purchase and sell second-hand goods. It’s also a bargain market. Whoever can bargain gets a good deal here,” said a police officer who is well versed with the locality.

First Copy Market

The officer said the first-copy market imports its shoes, sandals and chappals from China. The goods are brought via Nepal to Delhi’s Karol Bagh area from where they are distributed across the country, including the shoe market in Kurla.

“They make a perfect replica of the originals that can confuse even customers who closely scrutinize products before purchasing them. The shoes are light-weight and comfortable, however, they can’t match the original. They are preferred by college students, who prefer cheaper options to branded products, and those who want new footwear every now and then,” said the police officer.

“They have shops and godowns where the stock is kept,” said a crime branch official who was part of the raid, adding that he could only guess the volume of business when just one raid netted ₹1.27 worth of goods.

Customs Market

The Customs Market, which is really a stolen goods market as per the police, also brings in footwear from across the country. The shoe thieves network works according to a plan. “Sai Baba temple in Shirdi, Siddhivinayak Temple in Dadar, Haji Ali Dargah, Mahalaxmi temple are their haunts. During Ganpati, they home in on well-known pandals such as Lalbaugcha Raja and Pune’s Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple,” said the crime branch officer who was part of the raid.

Some of the thieves mostly live not too far from the market. Beggars and drug addicts gather ten to twelve pairs in a day and sell the lot at night here, police say, adding that the booty from far off shrines are loaded onto luxury buses and offloaded at Dadar from where they are brought to Kurla. The money is paid via UPI to the agents. The shopkeepers buy them cheap, spend some money on minor repairs or washing and put them up for display and sale, said the police officer.

Some shopkeepers deny the allegations, however. “We have licenses for purchasing and selling second-hand articles. We purchase old shoes or chappals directly from the owners who want to sell the old shoes, sandals or chappals or from scrap vendors. We refurbish the products and resell the same,” said a shopkeeper.

The Kurla shoe market has a branch as well. Some Kurla vendors have set up shop at the Dedh Galli shoe market at JJ Marg that operates only Friday mornings, police say.

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