Trading Standards Officers across Northern Ireland have seized counterfeit goods with an estimated retail value of more than £200,000 during two days of targeted inspections.
Products including fake designer clothing and footwear, handbags, mobile phone chargers and headphones were found at five retail premises in Bangor, Belfast, Lisburn and Derry.
The Northern Ireland Trading Standards Service (NI TSS) was acting on intelligence received from trademark holders whose intellectual property was being infringed by the fake products.
NI TSS also received a number of complaints from consumers who had purchased what they believed to be genuine branded clothing, only to discover that the items were fake and of extremely poor quality. Some consumers even attempted to return the items to store, only to be refused a refund.
Nicholas Lane, NI TSS Area Inspector, said: “Counterfeiting is often seen as a victimless crime but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It is widely known that organised crime groups use the sale of these goods to fund their illegal activity such as money laundering, forced labour and drug operations, which can have a devastating impact on the wider community.
“Counterfeit goods are produced with little regard for the safety of consumers or the workers who make them, so consumers often end up with poor quality, potentially dangerous products. Traders selling fake goods also harm the local economy by undermining legitimate retail businesses and traders, who pay taxes and provide genuine jobs for people. TSS will not hesitate to take enforcement action against any trader found to be selling counterfeit goods.”
