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| Issued By West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service |
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| Issued By West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service |
COUNTERFEIT
CROOKS CAUGHT IN THE ACT
SANTA
CLAUSE 2 TOO SOON
In
the run up to Christmas, West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service, as part of a
joint initiative with West Yorkshire Police, are cracking down on the supply of
counterfeit goods. On Sunday 1st December, officers raided the car
boot sale in Halifax town centre, following complaints made by members of the
public.
During
the operation, a number of vehicles at the event were targeted, resulting in
three arrests and a massive seizure of illegally copied music, computer
software, videos and DVDs. Almost
3500 counterfeit items were seized, with an estimated street value in excess of
£100,000. The fakes included some of the latest blockbuster titles, such as
Santa Clause the Movie 2, Harry Potter 2 and the latest James Bond film, Die
Another Day.
Martin
Wood, West Yorkshire’s Chief Trading Standards Officer commented, “I am
delighted with the success of this operation. The people of West Yorkshire have
a right to be protected from the insidious activities of counterfeiting. The
vast majority of these goods are of such poor quality that they just cannot be
used, and in effect people are handing over their hard-earned cash for worthless
goods. Those who dabble in these activities will have to face up to the
consequences, which could result in a maximum prison sentence of up to 10 years,
as this Service will have no hesitation in taking action against the offenders.
Councillor
Graham Clarke, Chair of West Yorkshire Joint Services Committee said, “I
applaud the work of the officers in this case. Both consumers and the legitimate
business community lose out from the sale of counterfeit goods. Whilst people
may be tempted by a cheap bargain, I would remind people that using counterfeit
goods, especially in this case, are of inferior quality and can damage equipment
such as video recorders and DVD players.
For
further information please contact:
Dennis
Ager, Trading Standards Officer, tel 0113 289 8220
Paul
Smith, Principal Officer, tel 0113 289 8219