£20m of goods seized at airport
Goods were found as they arrived at East Midlands Airport COUNTERFEIT AND SUB-STANDARD ITEMS FOUND
TRADING standards officers have been praised for helping Border Force seize more than £20 million of unsafe and counterfeit goods coming into East Midlands Airport.
The partnership between the national agency and Leicestershire County Council was recognised with a commendation at the national Regulatory Excellence Awards, organised by the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
County council leader Nick Rushton said: “The partnership carries out vital work which enhances the safety of consumers in Leicestershire and the wider UK as it ensures unsafe goods do not make their way into the supply chain.
“I am delighted their work has been recognised at a national level.”
Trading standards officers and Border Force officials work at the airport to target and intercept consignments coming into the country which may contain dangerous, faulty or counterfeit items.
They also work with importers to ensure their products are compliant with UK standards.
The surveillance partnership is intelligence-led, which allows the teams to target resources in the areas of highest risk.
Potentially unlawful or noncompliant consignments are identified, targeted and then intercepted. In the three-year period from 2016 to 2019, trading standards and Border Force intercepted and detained 683,000 items at the airport, with a total value of more than £21 million.
The seizures included goods, toys and cosmetics. electrical
Trading standards officers also worked with importers of some of the goods to bring them up to the correct standard to be allowed into the UK and sold.
Those items which could not be made compliant or counterfeit goods were seized and recycled.