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| Issued By West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service |
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| Issued By West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service |
In the latest round of
crackdowns on the sale of counterfeit goods by street traders over the Christmas
period, West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service, in a joint initiative with
West Yorkshire Police, yesterday carried out inspections throughout the city
centres and markets of West Yorkshire, after receiving complaints from consumers
about illegal activities taking place there.
Leeds City Council representatives were also involved in the Leeds City
centre operation,
Officers found street traders
selling counterfeit clothing, mobile phone accessories and luggage. Over 600
items, with a street value of over £50,000, were seized from illegal street
traders within the West Yorkshire vicinity.
Seized items included
Burberry suitcases, scarves, hats, designer mobile phone covers and GAP hooded
tops
Councillor Graham Clarke,
Chair of West Yorkshire Trading Standards Committee said:
“At Christmas we are all on
the look out for a bargain but buying cheap, counterfeit copies is not the
answer. There will be a few
disappointed people on Christmas Day when they find their presents are poor
quality and poor value for money. The message we are sending out to traders in
counterfeit goods is very clear. We
will not tolerate the sale of illegal counterfeit goods and warn anyone thinking
of starting or continuing with such activities that the maximum sentence for
such crimes is 10 years imprisonment.”
Chief
Inspector Martin Deacon based at Millgarth Police Station in Leeds stated:
“The
operation was a great success and demonstrates that agencies working together to
combat illegal activities can achieve great results, we will continue to work
together on many more joint operations over the Christmas period and beyond”
For
further information contact:
Paul Smith, Principal
Officer, tel: 0113 289 8219
Paul
Cooper, Divisional Manager Fair Trading, tel: 0113 289 8240