“The international trade in counterfeit goods is serious, organised crime and is a serious threat to the UK economy in terms of lost profits and tax revenues”, says Immigration Minister Mark Harper.
His comments followed the seizure of £4m worth of counterfeit items.
The haul at Southampton docks included 580 “Louis Vuitton” bags and 400 belts, 22,000 pairs of fake designer sunglasses and 2,000 items of counterfeit jewellery.
At Heathrow, 91,000 fakes included Rolex and Bulgari watches, Beats by Dr Dre headphones and Estee Lauder cosmetics were seized.
Customs officers say the lucrative fake designer market is costing the economy £1.3 billion a year.
‘CHEAP COUNTERFEITS UNDERCUT HONEST TRADERS’
Immigration minister Mark Harper said: “Cheap counterfeits undercut honest traders and leave shoppers with goods that are at best inferior to genuine products and, at worst, harmful or unsafe.
“The international trade in counterfeit goods is serious organised crime and is a serious threat to the UK economy in terms of lost profits and tax revenues.
In the run up to Christmas Border Force officers were operating 24 hours a day at ports, airports and mail sorting centres detaining counterfeit items that could otherwise have ended up as gifts this Christmas.
The Minister said: “The public can play their part in disrupting the trade by ensuring they only buy from genuine retailers.”
Andy Lumb, assistant director Border Force South, added: “Many people enjoy finding a bargain but quite simply, if a price appears too good to be true, whether found on the internet or at a car boot sale, it probably is.”
*Just a decade ago, the global market in counterfeit goods was worth just £3bn a year – today, it is worth more than 100 times more.
*The market in counterfeit goods has now become the biggest illicit sector in the world, eclipsing the drugs trade. And these goods now represent one-tenth of all global trade.
*Those who buy the fakes are the final link in a chain that includes criminals involved in child exploitation, extortion, prostitution, people-smuggling, murder and even terrorism.
