Neath Port Talbot Council Help Seize £1m of Fake Goods
A major UK counterfeit goods operation has been disrupted resulting in £1 million of fake products being seized by trading standards in an operation supported and assisted by trademark holders.
In an operation led by Swansea Trading, Neath Port Talbot Trading Standards participated in a coordinated seizure from twelve vehicles stopped on the M5 en route to Bristol Fruit Market.
Midlands Police Force joined Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Caerphilly Trading Standards services and representatives from brand owners to stop and search the vehicles.
Six of the vehicles seized during the raid were crammed full with counterfeit goods including Kylie Jenner cosmetics, Ugg boots, GHD hair straighteners, fake MAC make-up sets, Nike and Adidas trainers and various brands of perfume and aftershave.
Neath Port Talbot had received reports from consumers who have purchased fake goods via social media sites, including Facebook. The operation was to intercept the supply of these items to the retailers in the South Wales area.
Neath Port Talbot Council Leader, Ali Thomas OBE said: “The department regularly receives intelligence of the sale of counterfeit goods within Neath Port Talbot. Increasingly, social media is being used as the method for selling these products.
“All of these counterfeit goods are poor quality, badly made and have not been put through the rigorous safety tests that genuine products are subject to. Consumers are at risk when using counterfeit products, particularly electrical items.
“This operation shows that enforcement agencies and the industry can work together effectively and demonstrates the benefits of sharing intelligence.”
The raid is the latest phase of Operation Jasper, a long running campaign coordinated by the National Markets Group and Trading Standards, to stop the sale of unsafe counterfeit goods on social media.
The gang’s activities came to light after painstaking intelligence work by agencies, such as the Government Agency Intelligence Network (GAIN) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
Consumers are always on the lookout for a bargain, but cheap doesn’t always mean cheerful.
Counterfeits can be dangerous and you can be risking the safety of people close to you if you purchase fake goods. In these times of austerity the counterfeit trade affects legitimate trade who are struggling to keep their heads above water, and you may also be helping fund other criminal activity.
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