Fake airbag investigation in UK leads to three arrests

Three people have been arrested as part of a UK investigation into the sale of counterfeit car airbags, which could have put motorists at risk. 

Officers from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police executed search warrants at two residential addresses in Leyton and Ilford, east London, during the early hours of September 19. A third warrant was carried out at a garage in Ilford.

A total of 500 counterfeit airbags and an estimated £140,000 (around $187,000) in cash were seized across all three premises. A written price list found at the garage suggests that the airbags were sold for as little as £25.

Police dogs found £110,000 of this wrapped in nappies and hidden inside a wall cavity at one of the residential properties. The remaining £30,000 was found in wardrobes at the same property.

Three men, aged 34, 36 and 51 years, were arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to distribute counterfeit goods.

The operation took place following a referral from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in the US. Officers from PIPCU suspect that the airbags were imported into the UK from China and then sold abroad.

According to a consumer alert published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), three people in the US were killed and two people suffered injuries from September 2023 to July 2024 as a result of their vehicles being fitted with substandard replacement airbag inflators.

PIPCU is calling on anyone who is concerned that they may have inadvertently bought a counterfeit airbag or vehicle part to contact their nearest authorised car dealer so that their vehicle can be checked.

"Counterfeit airbags pose a serious threat to customers who purchase them and have them installed in their vehicles," said Detective Chief Inspector Emma Warbey of PIPCU.

"These airbags aren't manufactured to industry standards, so there's a real possibility that they won't inflate during a road traffic collision, or will deploy in error."