Blitz nets £16k haul of fake designer gear
Wishaw home raid
Thousands of pounds worth of fake designer clothes and goods were seized in Wishaw during a three-month blitz.
Police and Trading Standards officers found £16,000 worth of counterfeit goods when they swooped on a house in the town’s Carron Crescent two days before Christmas.
Among the counterfeit items that were seized included the biggest names in fashion such as Armani and Hugo Boss and Stone Island clothes and other fake handbags and make-up.
It was the biggest haul found as part of a 12- week operation where thousands of pounds of counterfeit goods were seized across Lanarkshire.
Operation Bichon saw police working with Trading Standards teams from North and South Lanarkshire as well as other partner agencies.
Sergeant Neil MacLeod, from Wishaw Police Office’s Community Investigation Unit, said: “Not only are reputable trademarks being ripped off but the bigger picture is that organised crime groups are being funded as they are behind the making and distribution of these products.”
A final total of all the goods seized during the operation will be confirmed later this month.
Peter Fergie, assistant Trading Standards manager at North Lanarkshire Council, added: “As well as items of clothing, we have seized a large quantity of tobacco over the three-month period.”
Last year fake goods worth a street value of £ 100,000 were seized after police and Trading Standards officers swooped on a property in Pather.
Items branded with designer names included Rolex, Breitling, Prada, Boss, Ralph Lauren, Adidas and Nike in the raid.
Anyone with information relating to counterfeit goods can contact police on 101.