• Raids uncover Aladdin’s cave of “knock-off” designer wear
Newham Trading Standards kicked off London Trading Standards week with a pre-planned raid on a business suspected of selling clothing, which resulted in the seizure of counterfeit goods with an estimated retail value exceeding £100,000.
London Trading Standards represents the 33 Local Authority Trading Standards services in the Capital. Working together they share information and run awareness campaigns across the 33 boroughs to protect consumers and safeguard legitimate business.
Newham Trading Standards, Licensing and Community Safety teams executed a pre-planned operation after receiving a credible tip-off regarding a particular store in the borough.
Following formal inspection, the goods were identified as not being genuinely made or supplied by the respective trademark holders. The items were poor quality with inferior packaging and were much cheaper than genuine designer branded items.
Councillor Amar Virdee, Cabinet Member for Crime & Community Safety said: “Intelligence-led operational activity is a crucial tool in the fight against this kind of criminal activity.
“I strongly support building firm working relationships across local authority services to promote smarter ways of working in these challenging times”.
“The allure of cut-price, high-value designer brands can appear attractive. However, these goods are generally sold to unsuspecting consumers who may think they are getting a bargain.”
“Newham Trading Standards service will continue to protect the public from poor or inferior quality goods and I applaud our Trading Standards, Licensing and Community Safety teams for producing such an exceptional result”.
Selling counterfeit goods often funds organised criminal gangs, creates significant damage to brand holders, the UK economy, and also leads to the loss of taxes to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Investigations remain ongoing, and the seized products will now be fully assessed as part of the inquiries to determine the offences committed.
The penalties are severe for counterfeiting offences, and upon conviction, can lead to an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, and/or unlimited fine.
