Fake DVDs and cigarettes seized

Thousands of fake DVDs and illegal cigarettes were seized in a raid on a car boot sale in the West Midlands.

The counterfeit goods, which included more than 3,000 DVDs that would have been worth more than £30,000 if legitimate, were netted at a car boot sale in Dark Lane, Featherstone, near Wolverhampton.

A man was arrested in front of shocked bargain-hunters at the sale yesterday.

As well as the DVD haul, illegal Superkings cigarettes and Golden Virginia and Amber Leaf tobacco were also seized. Staffordshire County Council and Staffordshire Police are patrolling the car boot sale – and many others in the area – on a regular basis to catch the criminals.

At yesterday's raid, DVDs – including only-in-cinema titles such as This Means War – were seized. They were being sold for £1 each. A 29-year-old man was arrested for being in possession of counterfeit goods and bailed to report to the police on June 6.

Nigel Cotton, senior investigator in the trading standards fraud team, said: "People often think this type of thing is a victimless crime, but this goes to fund other criminal activity.

"These people are not Del Boy or Arthur Daley characters but criminals." He said the money made from illegal sales at car boots was passed up the chain of command to more powerful members of the criminal operation.

He said the problem was becoming more and more prevalent, especially in South Staffordshire, which has a number of car boot sales.

In recent weeks, 5,000 DVDs were seized from a single stall at a local site, and an entire police van was filled with counterfeit clothing from another.