Operation sees £1 million of counterfeit items seized

The local trading standards wing joined forces with its counterparts in Swansea, who led on the operation, together with Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot, to coordinate the seizure of items when 12 vehicles on route to Bristol Fruit Market were stopped on the M5 motorway.

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 retrieved included fake Nike and Adidas trainers and various brands of perfume and aftershave.

Caerphilly’s cabinet member with responsibility for public protection, Councillor Nigel George, 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.”

The operation is the latest phase of Operation Jasper, a long running campaign co-ordinated by the National Markets Group and Trading Standards, with the aim of tackling the sale of unsafe counterfeit goods on social media.

The activities came to light after intelligence work carried out by agencies such as the Government Agency Intelligence Network (GAIN) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Caerphilly and the other local authorities became involved after complaints were received from local consumers who had purchased goods via various social media sites.

The four Trading Standards teams were assisted by traffic officers from West Midlands and West Mercia police forces.

To report an issue to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team, call 01495 235 291 or visit caerphilly.gov.uk/tradingstandards.

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