The police blitz on Manchester's Counterfeit Street has been relentless for three months. Even the Home Secretary visited this month for an insight into how a national magnet for criminality is being dismantled.
The daily sweeps by officers from Greater Manchester Police's Operation Vulcan are keeping "spotters" who keep watch outside numerous buildings on Bury New Road in the Strangeways area stuffed with fake goods, on their toes. Warehouses and industrial units in nearby Cheetham Hill have also been raided with millions of pounds worth of clothing, perfume., and drugs have been recovered.
Now as the push to seize goods, issue closure orders on premises, and ultimately bulldoze them maintains momentum some criminals are choosing to move out tons of counterfeit goods out of the area.
But four suspects were caught red-handed when they tried to empty a store of hooky gear before before cops got to them. On Sunday officers from Operation Vulcan were conducting patrols on Moulton Street, Manchester.
Whilst on patrol the officers spotted four men emptying a shop of suspected counterfeit goods. Officers searched their van and inside found large quantities of prescription medications and thousands of pounds worth of suspected counterfeit clothing.
The four were subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class C drugs and distribution of articles infringing trademarks.
GMP have established that 33 organised crime gangs from across the UK have links to the counterfeit rackets in and around Strangeways, Inspector Andy Torkington of GMP Operation Vulcan, said: “This week we cleared out a further three units housing counterfeit shops that were discovered by our officers.
“Our work didn’t stop there either – our officers then attended a home address of one of the shop owners (arrested) and there discovered huge storage quantities of suspected counterfeit goods and also seized around £6,000 in cash.
“The police presence in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways area is relentless. I believe our activity is starting to make a real difference and is making it more difficult for criminals to operate in the area.
“Our officers are on the lookout for anyone who may be shifting counterfeit goods to intercept and prevent offenders from transferring criminal activity elsewhere. Operation Vulcan is not confined to Cheetham Hill and Strangeways – whilst I’m pleased to see disruption in criminal activity, this is not about moving the problem elsewhere.
“Counterfeit crime brings with it serious and violent criminality and we will therefore continue to squeeze and target offenders until they desist or we put them in jail.”
Marcus Evans, the Intellectual Property Office's Deputy Ditrector of Intelligence and Law Enforcement, said: “As well as being illegal, counterfeit goods cause real social and environmental harms, and damage legitimate traders. Such goods are often unsafe or defective, undermine consumer confidence and help sustain serious and organised criminality.
“We are pleased to support this activity to clamp down on the sale of such illicit goods, working in partnership to help protect communities from this type of crime. We continue to work with our partners to raise awareness of the dangers of illicit counterfeits, helping empower consumers to make informed choices and disrupting criminal activity”.
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