Counterfeit items price report £870m discovered as police raid delivery containers in Manchester

A record-breaking haul of counterfeit gadgets price an estimated £870m has been seized by police.

More than 580 tonnes of garments, medicine, tobacco, vapes and Nitrous Oxide canisters had been present in 207 delivery containers in Manchester.

Police mentioned the “monumental” stash was the biggest seizure in UK historical past, the biggest in Europe in almost 20 years and one of many largest globally.

It took two weeks for greater than a 100 folks – police, model specialists and a safety firm – to crack open the containers and course of the faux gear.

A covert operation and intelligence led to the discover on the outskirts of the Cheetham Hill space.

An investigation is now beneath means into the supply of the products and to arrest these concerned.

Detective Inspector Christian Julien, from Operation Vulcan, mentioned it put Greater Manchester Police “in the top three worldwide for a single seizure of counterfeit items”.

He added: “It isn’t a bargain so please be under no illusions – this type of crime is not victimless.

“Criminals are making vast amounts of money from this trade which is being funnelled into fuelling further criminality, exploitation, and misery not just in Manchester, but across the world.”

Manchester police additionally discovered greater than 200 tonnes of pretend items in a storage facility in close by Strangeways in 2021.

As effectively as designer items, the invention included factories that had been making fragrance utilizing chemical substances together with display screen wash and white spirit.