Tests on ebay
China gangs target UK with fake Aussie wine
Police probe as boxes of NHS kits sell online for up to £400
Covid-19 testing trial in Liverpool in November and are now being offered to NHS staff and care home visitors.
Police were last night probing the online sales after we alerted them.
A source said: “Clearly, there are individuals stealing tests that should be used to protect the most vulnerable and trying to sell them for profit.
“It’s disgusting but they need to know they won’t get away with it.”
We were able to buy 50 of the tests despite our Birmingham-based seller’s listing being taken down by ebay. We were sent a message over the site with an email address to contact them. On asking if the kits were still available, our reporter was told: “Yeh [sic] ebay took them down for some reason to do with selling medical supplies. We have around 25 boxes and each contains 25 lateral flow tests. [On] ebay we sell for £45 but depending on how many your [sic] after could arrange something.”
After we agreed to buy two boxes for £80, a courier met our reporter at a petrol station and handed them over.
We later asked the seller if he was aware he was selling suspected stolen goods but got no reply. West Midlands
Police confirmed “the matter is currently being investigated”.
Underlining the scale of the issue, we found another seller offering next-day delivery and one who said: “I’ve got 1 box of 25 and can get more.” A third hawked a box for £100 but went quiet when we asked to meet.
Tried & Tested, UK distributor for California-based Innova, urged police to probe the “very concerning” ads and asked sites to pull them as “a matter of urgency”
Gumtree said it was looking into the “prohibited ads” and would “take any action necessary”. Facebook said the sales violate its policies and were being removed. And ebay said: “These items are prohibited. We are taking action against sellers.”
The Department of Health was contacted for comment.
CHINESE crime gangs are behind a fake Aussie wine scam in the UK, say experts.
Phoney versions of the Yellow Tail brand – including Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio – have been found in shops across the country.
Criminals are forging convincing labels to stick on the bottles then selling them to shopkeepers.
Trading standards officers believe the counterfeiters are part of an international racket exploiting the UK’S booming £3.2billion wine market. Drinks expert Ewan Lacey says they are often based in China.
He said: “China is an epicentre for counterfeit wine. They bottle another country’s wine which they’ve bought for a dollar.”
Trading standards officers launched an investigation after customers complained bottles of Yellow Tail wine bought from KVK supermarket in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, didn’t taste right.
They seized 41 bottles bearing the popular Yellow Tail label which were confirmed to be fake by brand owner Casella.
Other bottles have been found elsewhere in the country.
Birmingham trading standards said the racket could do untold damage to genuine brands if consumers were put off buying them.
A spokesman said: “This is a large-scale operation, probably originating abroad, using organised crime gangs in the UK to distribute and sell the products.”
Chris Jones, of West Midlands police, said: “The only way this alcohol could have been bought is off the back of a lorry. The premises didn’t know if it was fit for public consumption.”
KVK supermarket has lost its alcohol licence. Owner Kuladevi Thavarasa said staff had bought the wine in her absence.
WHAT KIM WANTS…
THE family home in Calabasas, Los Angeles, is a £42million mansion turned into a Japanese wabi-sabi inspired dreamscape. Kanye owns the house but Kim owns the land. The couple also bought a four-bedroom house next door to give themselves more room.
WHAT KANYE WANTS…
KANYE bought his “Yeezy campus”, a £10million, 12,000-acre ranch in Cody, Wyoming, two years ago to turn into a skate park, “light and space” installation and sheep farm with domed structures.
CAMPUS: Kanye wants the ranch
Kanye worth £952m
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Kim worth £660m
IN 2018: The Queen with Harry and Meghan
THE Queen has vowed a “new beginning” for the royals after Harry and Meghan chose mega-money deals over duty.
As their divorce from The Firm was finalised this week, Her Majesty, 94, gave the go-ahead for the seven senior royals to take up public engagements as soon as possible.
Dubbed the “Magnificent Seven” by Palace officials, it is hoped Prince Charles and wife Camilla, Prince William and Kate, Princess Anne and
Prince Edward and his wife Sophie will “put on a united front” to herald a new dawn for the monarchy.
Royal sources have revealed how the Queen wants to draw a line under a tumultuous period.
She now “considers the matter closed”, after her swift decision to strip Harry and Meghan of their last roles after they moved to the US.
The Duke and Duchess, as they will continue to be known, have rapidly secured “financial freedom”. Last year they agreed contracts with
Netflix to make documentaries and “original programmes” for a reported £100million as well as lifestyle podcasts with Spotify for £30million.
Top PR agent Mark Borkowski told the Sunday People: “Harry and Meghan need to look after themselves now they’re completely detached from the royal household.
“But it’s not just about money, it’s about power and influence and I’m sure Meghan’s ambitions politically over the next 20 to 30 years.”