Bad luck for counterfeiters on Friday 13
UK authorities have seized counterfeit clothing worth more than £2 million ($2.7 million) in a raid on Manchester’s so-called ‘counterfeit street’.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) announced on October, Friday 13 that a multi-agency operation had resulted in six people being detained at properties in the Cheetham Hill area of the city.
It followed a week of action by bodies including Trading Standards and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs against organised crime.
Chief inspector Denise Pye from GMP said members of organised crime groups are often involved in the production and sale of counterfeit goods to fund further criminal activity.
“By disrupting their plans at this stage, we are potentially preventing these criminals from committing more serious crimes in future.
“Our priority is to protect members of the community who are honest and law-abiding, allowing them to go about their lives without their safety feeling compromised,” he said.
It is not the first time counterfeits have been recovered in this area of Manchester.
In 2016 WIPR reported that police had seized counterfeit Adidas and G-Star products with a street value of £1 million on what the UK Intellectual Property Office had dubbed “counterfeit street” in a report earlier that year.
Friday 13 is considered by some to be a particularly unlucky date, and there are reports that the cost of air travel falls on this date because of an increased fear of flying.
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