Counterfeit goods with an estimated street value of over £2m were seized from a number of businesses on Moulton Street in the Strangeways area of Manchester during raids last week.
The quantity of items seized during the raid filled two 40ft containers. The goods seized included Louis Vuitton, Prada and Vivienne Westwood handbags, Adidas and Converse tracksuits, and Nike trainers as well as counterfeit jewellery.
The raids form part of ongoing multi-agency enforcement in the area and follow a number of recent prosecutions for the possession of counterfeit goods and a similar raid in November when £1m worth of goods were seized. Landlords have also begun evicting tenants who are involved in criminal counterfeiting activity.
Further work is planned over the coming months to deal with businesses still continuing to trade in counterfeit goods and warnings are being issued to those landlords who stand to make a profit from ongoing criminal activity.
Councillor Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council executive member for neighbourhoods, said: “The council, the police and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group are all resolute in their desire to tackle the distribution and sale of fake goods wherever it is a problem.
“The recent seizures of counterfeit goods in the Strangeways area of the city along with the prosecution of a number of businesses demonstrate just how seriously we take the issue and the effectiveness of the current strategy.
“Counterfeit goods present a very real problem. In the run up to Christmas we all feel our wallets being pinched and counterfeit items can seem like an easy way to save some cash – however the products are often of extremely poor quality and fake items can be incredibly dangerous if they do not meet the required standards. So I would ask for everyone to use their heads this December and avoid buying fake gifts – you could be putting a loved one at risk”.
