December 14, 2017 11.57 am This story is over 74 months old

Suspect ‘designer’ goods seized in Boston

A raid by trading standards.

A large haul of suspected counterfeit tobacco and ‘designer’ goods have been seized by trading standards in Boston.

Teams acted on intelligence from the public about items on a Facebook selling place, with a large quantity of perfume, make-up, jewellery and watches seized from an address on Red Lion Street.

Almost 30kg of hand-rolling tobacco and nearly 4kg of raw tobacco was also uncovered in the joint raid with Lincolnshire Police.

The suspected fake brands included Calvin Klein, Chanel, Dior, Hugo Boss and Gucci, while the Facebook page had more than 3,000 likes and was part of a selling group which had more than 300 members.

Trading Standards principal officer Andrew Wright said: “We are delighted that after lots of hard work from officers behind the scenes, we have been able to take a quantity of illicit and dangerous items out of the market place.

“We are grateful to members of the public who come forward to raise the alarm so that we can help stop this type of crime, it not only damages legitimate local businesses, but can result in people unwittingly buying harmful products.”

Senior trading standards officer Emma Beckett added: “People who come into contact with these items should know that if they do not comply with any regulations they have not been through the usual rigorous testing procedures.

“No-one knows what chemicals have gone into them or what harm they can cause. The same applies to counterfeit jewellery or watches because they are in contact with the skin.

“Our advice to people who are buying on-line or via Facebook is to be sure their branded goods are legitimate before purchasing. There is no way of knowing whether they are safe to use.

“All of these items will be sent off to be confirmed as counterfeit and a prosecution report will then be put together.”