Massive haul of fake luxury goods seized in Birmingham

Counterfeit designer products worth an estimated £2.5m ($3.2m) have been seized in Birmingham, UK, including Chanel, Dior and Michael Kors knock-offs.

The fakes included handbags, watches, purses, belts, electrical products, footwear, sunglasses and accessories, but there was particular concern about 50,000 bottles of Chanel, Paco Rabanne and Armani perfumes that likely don’t comply with the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 and so may be hazardous to health.

Earlier this month, two entry warrants were executed on a residential home address based in the Hall Green area of Birmingham, and one storage unit based in the Digbeth area of the city. The latter facility took enforcement teams two days to clear out, and also searched were four vans that yielded a large number of fake goods along with “evidence of manufacturing labels and equipment.”

Other counterfeits uncovered in the raids included counterfeits of SuperDry, Louis Vuitton, North Face, Stone Island and GHD products.

The warrants issued to allow the raids were connected to Operation Beorma, a joint National Trading Standards (NTS) and National Markets Group (NMG) operation, into the importation and supply of branded counterfeit and unsafe products.

“Black market activities like these pose a serious threat to the British economy in terms of lost profits and tax revenues and may be linked to criminal activities such as child labour and modern day slavery,” commented Cllr Barbara Dring, chair of Birmingham City Council’s’ Licensing and Public Protection Committee.

“Birmingham Trading Standards are warning consumers to be careful as while these products may be tempting and look like a bargain, they may be buying cheap, poor quality and potentially unsafe products – or paying the full price for inferior, fake merchandise.”