A huge criminal counterfeit goods operation 'worth up to £65m a year' has been smashed. Investigations by Rochdale council trading standards led to the discovery of a trader at the heart of a huge distribution network of counterfeit goods across the UK.
Items seized ranged from illegal cigarettes and tobacco to high-value counterfeit items, such as jewellery, perfumes and cosmetic fillers. Rochdale council leader Neil Emmott praised the officers for their ‘tremendous efforts’.
“They have worked above and beyond their normal daily duties to physically seize counterfeit items worth millions of pounds and disrupted a counterfeit network worth more than £65m per year,” he said. Coun Emmott says that people may not realise that - as well as often being dangerous and always inferior - counterfeit goods are funding organised crime.
