Counterfeit Clothing Crooks
Two men, were both given 12 month prison sentences at Harrow Crown Court on the 16th of March for the import of counterfeit clothing and footwear.
The pair, both from London pleaded guilty to three offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 after a joint investigation by Brent and Harrow Trading Standards with the London RART. Both men received a one year custodial sentence.
The pair were arrested on the 9th of February 2007 when officers from Brent and Harrow Trading Standards witnessed one of the men unloading boxes of counterfeit Nike Air Max trainers from a lorry and a van into storage units. More then 1500 items of counterfeit clothing and footwear were seized. If the items had been sold at an average of £20 for each item, £30,000 of income would have been generated.
Further investigations revealed that one of the men was operating within a family network based in Manchester and London. This family network were running a number of trading companies. The investigation led to further criminal and financial lines of enquiry in Manchester where most of the family were based and where they had a retail clothing outlet. London RART executed search warrants simultaneously on four different areas in Manchester that resulted in two further arrests and further counterfeit goods being seized.
A confiscation order was made out to one of the men for the sum of £30,000. He will have 56 days to satisfy the order or he will face a further 15 months being added to his sentence.
London RART are pleased with this excellent result which highlights how working in partnership with Trading Standards means that those who dupe the public into purchasing poor quality goods will be stripped of their financial gain.