One tonne of illegal goods seized in council crackdown » Local Government » 24dash.com

Nearly a tonne of dangerous, illegal and counterfeit goods have been seized from shops and businesses in just four months by Lambeth Trading Standards, the council revealed today.

The huge haul included counterfeit alcohol, medicines, designer clothes, and DVDs, as well as illegal and dangerous skin creams, soaps containing high levels of mercury, out of date cosmetics and unsafe replica guns.

Forty-five bags of seized goods have been incinerated this week, but at least three times that amount remains in storage to be used in evidence in upcoming legal proceedings.

The goods have been seized during routine inspections on shops and businesses by council Trading Standards officers since January.

Most of the goods were seized from businesses in Streatham and Brixton, including one raid in Streatham that netted counterfeit clothes with a resale value of around £300,000.

Cllr Lib Peck, Cabinet member for environment and culture on Lambeth Council, said: “The work that Trading Standards officers are doing is absolutely vital in protecting the public, and this haul represents a huge volume of potentially dangerous material being removed from sale.

"At best, the items being found for sale are low quality counterfeit items, such as DVDs and designer clothes, which offer poor value for money to the customer. At worst they are counterfeit medicines and alcohol that pose potentially serious risks to the health of anyone buying them.”

In many cases it was found that the business was directly importing the goods from the Far East, and had not ensured that the goods comply with either UK or EU legislation.

In others, the traders had purchased the goods from street sellers, who sell cheaply and convince the legal traders that the goods in question are legitimate and safe to be sold.

The market in counterfeit goods is often linked to organised crime.

Robert Gardner, Lambeth Council’s Trading Standards manager, said: “People selling these items are ripping off and endangering the public.

"Often shop owners think they can make a ‘quick buck’ by taking a risk and buying and selling counterfeit goods, but they should be aware that my team are on their case and they will be left out of pocket when the goods are seized and they may face a hefty fine in court.

“We encourage all traders to be diligent in their choice of suppliers, and to only buy in stock that has a legitimate existence within the EU.

"If any trader needs advice as to the legitimacy of any produce that they wish to sell, then please call Trading Standards for advice on 020 7926 6109.”


Items seized in the past four months include:
 
• Soaps containing mercury.
• Illegal skin lightening creams.
• Counterfeit medicines, such as Viagra.
• Fake designer clothing.
• Copy DVD's and pornographic DVD's.
• Unsafe replica guns.
• Medicinal or cosmetic material of unknown origin.
• Counterfeit alcohol.
• Liquid iodine capable of being used to make illegal drugs [crystal meth]
• Out of date cosmetics.
• Imported tobacco products.
• Dangerous laser pens.
• Potentially unsafe lighters. 

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