A man found with fake designer clothes, perfume, and electrical items, including Beats by Dr. Dre, has been jailed. Mohammed Shafiq was caught driving a vanload of counterfeit goods from Coventry to Wellesbourne Market in Warwickshire.
Shafiq, from Poplar Avenue in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply counterfeit goods in the West Midlands. He was sentenced to four and a half years in jail at Birmingham Crown Court.
Judge Mukherjee described 46-year-old Shafiq, who has previous convictions for similar matters, as a ‘serial offender’ and described the activity as ‘counterfeiting on an industrial scale.’ Images showed a huge number of boxes stacked inside a unit in Digbeth.
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Shafiq was convicted as part of a National Trading Standards investigation into illegal goods being sold in the Midlands. He was prosecuted after fake branded clothes, perfumes, cosmetics, accessories, and electrical items were found in a unit at Elite House on Warwick Street.
Counterfeit Stone Island items found in Digbeth
(Image: National Trading Standards)
Also found in the unit were assorted trademarked labels and machinery to apply them onto ‘plain’ accessories and clothing. Goods were seized in January 2019, and Shafiq was found to be renting the unit after he provided a copy of his passport as part of the rental process, National Trading Standards said.
In December 2020, Shafiq was caught driving a vanload of counterfeit goods from Coventry to Wellesbourne Market in Warwickshire. Police found that the van, which was being driven on cloned plates, contained items similar to those recovered from the base in Digbeth.
Fake Beats by Dr. Dre
(Image: National Trading Standards)
Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards, said: “Counterfeiting misleads consumers into parting with hard-earned money for fake products, but the practice also puts victims at risk of even greater harm than financial loss.
“Aside from being poor quality, fake electrical goods can be a fire hazard, while fake cosmetics, perfumes, and beauty products can contain harmful ingredients as criminals do not care about safety standards. Even fake designer clothes and accessories cause huge harm as the trade props up organised crime.”
He added: “We are proud to have supported this investigation, one of the largest ever undertaken in the West Midlands, and we urge people to be vigilant and report any examples of sales of counterfeit goods by calling the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.”
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