Manchester: £40k fake brands haul seized from two market stalls

Police and trading standards have seized fake clothes and footwear worth £40,000 in a counterfeit crackdown.

Two stalls were raided in Smithfield Market in Openshaw, Manchester, on Sunday in the joint operation.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said 69 large bags of counterfeit clothes and 48 boxes of counterfeit shoes and trainers with a total value of £33,360 were seized from one stall.

The other stall yielded 17 large bags of clothes and trainers worth £6,800.

GMP said they had been tipped off that "counterfeit clothing was being sold" at the market.

Insp Dan Cullum said: "I urge members of the public to steer clear of buying counterfeit items - at best you will waste your money on a sub-standard product, at worst you may purchase something that is harmful."

He added that "this is often the tip of the iceberg and the people running counterfeit operations are also often involved in far more nefarious crime from human exploitation to drugs".

Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon said: "We are determined to leave no corner of the city untouched in our resolve to rid the streets of counterfeit goods."

She added: "I would ask our residents, even in these difficult times, not to put money into the hands of criminals for the sake of a bargain."

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