Over £1 million worth of counterfeit goods have been seized by local authorities, after it emerged that residents had been stung buying fake items from sellers on social media.
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team joined forces with counterparts in Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot, and coordinated the seizure of items when twelve vehicles on route to Bristol Fruit Market were stopped on the M5 motorway recently.
Traffic officers from West Midlands and West Mercia police forces also assisted in the major operation.
Items seized from six of the vehicles included counterfeit Kylie Jenner cosmetics, Ugg boots, iPhone chargers, GHD hair straighteners and MAC make-up sets. Other goods seized included fake Nike and Adidas trainers and various brands of perfume and aftershave.
Local authorities became involved after complaints were received from consumers who had purchased goods via various social media sites.
Cllr Nigel George, Caerphilly’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Public Protection said: “Residents will be aware from previous successful prosecutions how seriously we take the sale of counterfeit goods.
“Not only does the sale of such items affect legitimate manufacturers selling genuine items, but there is also the very real concern of the items being poor quality and a potential safety risk – particularly items such as counterfeit phone chargers, make-up and hair straighteners.
“Counterfeiting is a serious crime which can have a real impact upon our communities, and the seizure of this large haul of counterfeit goods is the result of a lot of hard work by a number of different organisations all working together to ensure these items don’t end up for sale.”
Residents can report an issue to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team by calling 01495 235 291 or visiting www.caerphilly.gov.uk/tradingstandards.
Do people really believe that goods purchased from social media sites at too good to be true knock down prices are going to be genuine, then they complain when the bargain GHDs turn out to be utter rubbish, dangerous and not worth the £20 they paid for them, a fool and their money are easily parted.