Fake goods 'worth £1 million' seized from Black Country shop
A haul of suspected counterfeit goods with an estimated value of £1 million has been seized at a shop in the Black Country.
The items including tobacco, clothing, accessories and homeware were found during an inspection in Smethwick earlier this week.
Sandwell Council said a total of 49 exhibit bags of items and four large rugs were seized, with three police vans and a car needed to transport the goods from the scene.
The items were purported to be brands including Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and BMW. The genuine goods would have totalled is in excess of £1m.
The raid inspection was carried out by Sandwell Council's trading standards team, supported by West Midlands Police.
Meanwhile, nine out of 10 stores in West Bromwich and Smethwick failed to challenge the age of the buyer when the council sent in underage people to buy knives as a test.
These shops have now signed up to the Responsible Retailers Scheme which encourages retailers to ask anyone who looks under 25 for proof of age to prevent illegal sales to under-18s.
Sandwell's deputy council leader Councillor Maria Crompton said: “Joint operations like this are vital to keep our communities as safe as possible. By tackling the illegal sale of knives to underage people, we can reduce access to knives, tackle crime and potentially save lives.
"Operations like this also show that we will not allow Sandwell residents to be conned into buying substandard, sham, counterfeit goods.”
