Cops raided a Haslemere shop and home only to discover a haul of fake Euro 2024 shirts worth £50,000. A man was arrested and has been released under investigation, City of London Police said.
The force raided a shop and residential address to seize the items, as part of a wider project to tackle counterfeit goods. Ahead of the UEFA Euro finals, police have seen an uptick of fake football t-shirts, which on a surface level seem like a bargain. However, sales can often fund criminal activity like money laundering.
Police say there is a link between counterfeit goods and forced labour and drug operations. In total, raids around the UK have revealed an industry loss of £98,300 during the Euros so far and annually the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) estimates show that the annual loss to the economy through counterfeiting and piracy is £9 billion.
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Marcus Evans, Deputy Director of Intelligence and Law Enforcement at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), said: “As fans show their support for their favourite teams at Euro 2024, criminal networks continue to exploit their loyalty by targeting the market with counterfeit kits.
“The production and sale of these is anything but a victimless crime. It does nothing to support the game of football, but instead supports the lifestyles of the criminals involved – diverting funds away from the sport into the hands of serious and organised crime gangs.
“The trade in counterfeits has been estimated to cost over 80,000 jobs in the UK each year, and is strongly linked to other forms of serious crime – including the trade in illegal drugs, people smuggling and modern slavery.
“We will continue to work with our partners to help tackle this threat to our communities, raising awareness and empowering fans to make informed choices, helping benefit all who love the game.”
Fake items are unlikely to have been made with the health and safety of consumers in mind. Workers producing goods are probably not working under regulated conditions, City of London Police added.
The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice estimates that counterfeiting is now the second largest source of criminal income worldwide.
How to identify a counterfeit football shirt, according to police
- Check the price. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Do not be lured into thinking you are getting a great deal.
- Look out for signs of poor quality. Poor stitching, fabric quality and fit are often tell-tale signs of a counterfeit product. Look inside the shirt and examine the quality of the stitching, particularly around the neckline and badge. If a shirt looks poorly made, it probably is.
- Pay attention to detail. A counterfeit shirt may appear, for example, to have been made by Nike but have Adidas branding on the tag.
- Be wary of swing tags. A swing tag attached to a shirt does not guarantee that it is genuine. Check that the swing tag has a unique product code sticker (a barcode sticker) and that the same code has not been pre-printed and stuck on each swing tag. The swing tag should also include wording that specifically correlates to the product. If the text is generic, such as ‘ADIDAS JSY’, the shirt is counterfeit.
- Watch out for pen marks on the care labels. Check the care label inside the shirt for any numbers or marks that have been written using a pen. Counterfeit shirts can often have pen marks on the care label as this can be a method used by manufacturers to help count the number of items.
- Buy from reputable sellers. Always purchase from a reputable retailer to ensure you are paying for an official product. It is easy for criminals to use photos from official retailers on counterfeit websites. Buying from these websites can leave you at risk of having your personal and card details compromised, so always ensure that the website’s URL starts with ‘http’ or ‘https’.
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