Raid on Boston address leads to '˜large haul of counterfeit goods'

Goods believed to be counterfeit - including jewellery, watches, perfume and tobacco - have been seized from a Boston address following an investigation into items on a Facebook selling page.
Goods seized from an address in Boston. EMN-171214-113116001Goods seized from an address in Boston. EMN-171214-113116001
Goods seized from an address in Boston. EMN-171214-113116001

Lincolnshire County Council’s Trading Standards teams claimed a ‘successful operation’ which netted ‘a large haul of counterfeit goods’ after intelligence from the public led to investigations.

Lincolnshire Police and Trading Standards gained entry and searched a residential property on Red Lion Street in the town, where they discovered a quantity of perfume, make-up, jewellery and watches.

The joint raid also uncovered almost 30kg of hand-rolling tobacco, along with nearly 4kg of raw tobacco.

The suspected fake brands included Calvin Klein, Chanel, Dior, Hugo Boss and Gucci.

The facebook page, which had more than 3000 likes, was part of a selling group which had more than 300 members.

Trading Standards Principal Officer Andrew Wright said: “We are delighted that after lots of hard work from officers behind the scenes, we have been able to take a quantity of illicit and dangerous items out of the market place.

“We are grateful to members of the public who come forward to raise the alarm so that we can help stop this type of crime, it not only damages legitimate local businesses, but can result in people unwittingly buying harmful products.”

Officials say that perfumes and make-up which have not been through the relevant testing procedures or subjected to industry regulations can be ‘extremely hazardous’.

Previous seizures have seen fake perfumes contain anti-freeze and urine.

Senior Trading Standards Officer Emma Beckett added: “People who come into contact with these items should know that if they do not comply with any regulations they have not been through the usual rigorous testing procedures.

“No-one knows what chemicals have gone into them or what harm they can cause. The same applies to counterfeit jewellery or watches because they are in contact with the skin.

“Our advice to people who are buying on-line or via facebook is to be sure their branded goods are legitimate before purchasing. There is no way of knowing whether they are safe to use.

“All of these items will be sent off to be confirmed as counterfeit and a prosecution report will then be put together.”