Make sure your bargain isn’t fake

THOUSANDS of fake items have been seized by Border Force officers.

Shoppers are being warned against buying fake goods as they hunt for bargains during the festive season.

Among the items seized at UK ports and airports in recent weeks were 82,320 Calvin Klein underpants worth £1.5 million and 1,440 Superdry hoodie tops worth approximately £100,000 at Southampton port.

Also found at the Hampshire port were 450 counterfeit Dyson fans and Apple chargers worth about £182,500 and 2,112 Spiderman, Pokemon and Hello Kitty hand-held fans worth about £31,680.

At Heathrow Airport, 16,000 Gillette Mach 3 razor blades worth approximately £143,840 were seized and, at Manchester Airport, 1,530 Pandora charms worth approximately £45,900.

A total of 379 Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund football shirts were found at Dover port worth approximately £16,149 and 48 pairs of Nike Vapormax trainers worth approximately £5,760 were found at Manchester Airport.

Also, during a two-day operation at East Midlands Airport in November, Border Force officers seized 5,767 items with an estimated retail value of £2.6 million.

Among these were 485 Louis Vuitton, Diesel, Hublot and Bulgari watches worth approximately £1.4 million, and 2,428 pairs of Nike trainers, football tops and tracksuits worth about £251,000.

Immigration minister Brandon Lewis said: “The international trade in counterfeits is linked to serious and organised crime and undercuts honest traders, damaging our economy. Customers are also left out of pocket with inferior and potentially dangerous goods.

“We have Border Force officers working 24 hours a day at ports, airports and mail sorting centres.”

Seized items are destroyed and the rights holders can then decide whether to privately prosecute the importers.

Border Force South director Sue Young said: “Counterfeiters will look to capitalise and cash in where there is a demand for a product.

“We urge consumers to be careful with their purchases. If the price appears too good to be true, either at a car boot sale, a market stall or online, it probably is.”

Border Force officer Robert Martin with children’s toys which were among the goods seized at a UK port.

Children’s toys seized at the port.