25,000 counterfeit 3M masks seized in Scotland

Officers from the City of London Police’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) have seized 25,000 counterfeit face masks in Scotland, and arrested one man.

The operation was prompted by intelligence that the counterfeit face masks were coming into the UK from Hong Kong. Investigations uncovered two large consignments of masks at East Midlands Airport and Stanford Le-Hope, heading to an address in Aberdeen.

Subsequent raids on a residential property and a storage unit in the Dyce area of Aberdeen resulted in the seizure of 25,000 counterfeit 3M face masks that police said were going to be advertised as medical grade and sold online.

A 22-year-old man was interviewed under caution and has been released under investigation.