Ex-Scotland Yard detective whose private squad has made 500 successful prosecutions on how cuts and poor leadership are letting us down
selling counterfeit goods at markets or wherever.
“But austerity and police cuts meant police and Trading Standards weren’t prepared to take the cases to court, so we started bringing private prosecutions using evidence we gathered.”
One crook they recently put out of action was Jacqueline Davies, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, who was selling fake Pandora jewellery on eBay on an industrial scale.
Davies, 49, was making around £50,000 a year while paying no tax, spending much of her illicit earnings on luxury holidays. Mr McKelvey says: “She was selling these goods as genuine to decent, law abiding customers. It is good for society that we stopped her. If she re-offends she will go to prison.” Davies was given a suspended sentence and was ordered to pay prosecution costs approaching £2,000, which should cover the cost of TM Eye’s investigation, along with a contribution from the genuine Pandora company.
Like mainstream
TM Eye give its police forces, investigations names. Operation Mordor was set up three years ago to focus on an area of Manchester where gangs fence millions of pounds-worth of luxury counterfeit goods smuggled in from abroad.
Using hidden cameras, surveillance teams hidden in vans, and old-fashioned leg work, the company has had 100 successful prosecutions on that operation alone.
“In a fairly small area there were about 800 premises selling or distributing counterfeit goods, mostly luxury leather goods. Now there are around 30, which shows what an impact you can have when you concentrate,” says Mr McKelvey.
On some operations, those footing the bill for TM Eye’s services are reluctant to be named, but he added: “We work closely with Greater Manchester Police and the city council and we’ve been very successful. We do all the evidence gathering and fronting work and the police individuals.
“When we get a prosecution, the council can issue a closure notice on the premises.
“We hear on the grapevine that the villains think they only have a year of business left but the hardened criminals will go on, they’ll just move somewhere else. There’s too much money involved. Some of these places can make £15,000-a-week selling fake designer brands.”
Mr McKelvey is particularly proud of his firm’s operation to bring down global counterfeit drug operations, which works out of a dedicated area in his HQ.
“On our pharma unit we have a team leader and four detectives and we’ll go anywhere in the world,” he says.
On the team’s computer screens information was pouring in on five people under investigation in help us to identify