£1m worth of counterfeit designer goods uncovered in police raid
More than 1,000 counterfeit designer bags were seized during a police raid on a North London shop.
Officers also discovered fake designer watches, sunglasses and belts in the Camden High Street shop.
In total, 2,700 counterfeit designer goods were found worth a loss to the retail industry of around £1 million.
The shop was raided by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) Camden Town Centre team on Tuesday (September 3).
Three men, aged 24, 25 and 30 years, were arrested on suspicion of distributing articles infringing trademarks and money laundering offences.
Detective Sergeant Ben Hobbs, from the PIPCU said: “Selling counterfeit goods is illegal. Some consumers get conned, some end up with a poor-quality product and the money that runs through the counterfeit goods trade funds organised crime.
“This is the third shop on Camden High Street that our officers, with support from several partner agencies, have cleared of counterfeit stock in the space of three months. The message of these regular raids is clear: if you sell counterfeit goods to the public, you will be held to account for your actions.”
He said inside the shop, officers found several display racks of counterfeit designer stock, including 1,143 bags and wallets, 130 watches and 176 sunglasses. PIPCU said the items were worth a total estimated loss to the industry of £1 million.
The raid followed search warrants executed on Camden High Street in June and July this year as part of an ongoing operation, in coordination with partners including the MPS, Camden Council Trading Standards, TM Eye and Lighthouse Security, to tackle the counterfeit goods trade in the area.
City of London Police says the trade in counterfeits can often fund other criminal activity such as money laundering, forced labour and drug operations.
According to the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, counterfeiting is the second largest source of criminal income worldwide after illegal drugs.
Those arrested have since been released under investigation.