Crime Solicitors

Gateshead Council Trading Standards have seized dozens of bags of counterfeit clothes, shoes and perfume, following a raid on a property in Deckham in Gateshead.

The council said that large quantities of fake goods purporting to be made by famous brands such as UGG, Adidas, Nike and Stone Island were found at the residential address.

A large sum of money was also seized in the raid, which was carried out jointly by Northumbria Police and Trading Standards officers from Gateshead Council.

The seller of the fake goods had been tracked down, after being discovered using social networking sites to sell the counterfeit goods.

In total, 50 large evidence bags and eight boxes of T-shirts, jeans, shoes and a variety of other garments were removed from the home – the clothing has an estimated re-sale value of thousands of pounds.

Chair of Tyne and Wear Trading Standards Joint Committee, Councillor Kevin Dodds, said:

“This is a very large seizure and we are working with our legal team to consider what action to take.

“As well as rogue traders undercutting legitimate sellers, selling counterfeit goods of poor quality brings criminality into our local neighbourhoods, which disrupts the community as a whole.

“Selling counterfeit clothes is not a victimless crime – the genuine producers of clothing employ thousands of people across the world and these fake goods have an impact on them.

“At the same time, this counterfeit clothing will almost certainly have been imported and sold without any form of tax being paid.”

Duncan Lewis Criminal Lawyers – Public Protection Offences

Duncan Lewis Criminal Lawyers can advise at any stage of a public protection offence, including charges involving selling counterfeit goods, selling illicit alcohol or tobacco products, weights and measures issues, mislabelling offences, food hygiene breaches, selling restricted items to minors, breaches of health and safety regulations – and selling or offering for sale produce which fails to meet minimum quality standards.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and in most major cities – and Duncan Lewis can advise on police raids and premises inspections by Trading Standards or local authority fraud teams.

For expert legal advice on public protection offences, call Duncan Lewis criminal lawyers on 0333 772 0409.

For 24/7 help at a police station, call the Duncan Lewis Solicitors’ 24-Hour Emergency Helpline on 0333 772 0607.