Police rescue ‘30 Christmas shoppers’ trapped inside building on Counterfeit Street

Police officers were forced to rescue ‘30 Christmas shoppers’ from a building on Manchester’s notorious ‘Counterfeit Street’.

Officers from Operation Vulcan rescued a group of people who had been left trapped inside a building in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways area last Tuesday, December 6th.

While conducting high visibility patrols in the area, officers heard people inside a shop shouting for help.

After forcing entry under section 17 powers – an emergency warrant that is granted to preserve life – the police managed to rescue the group who were found huddled inside.

Greater Manchester Police

One of the shop workers had been alerted by ‘spotters’ in the area – people who are paid to keep watch and alert illegitimate business owners of approaching police officers.

They had then locked up the business and ran away, leaving members of the public trapped inside.

On rescuing the startled group, GMP say that officers found an elderly lady among them who had a broken arm and needed assistance getting down the steep and narrow flight of stairs to the exit.

After searching the building, officers found a ‘rabbit warren’ of single room shops selling counterfeit designer clothes, watches, electronics and various other items.

It took them five days to bag, tag and seize all the items within the building, due to the sheer amount of counterfeit goods stocked there.

Detective Superintendent Neil Blackwood said: “Our officers had a duty of care to force their way in and safeguard the individuals who had been trapped inside a building that was structurally unsound, utterly unsafe and from which they had absolutely no means of escape.

“I appreciate that at Christmas time everyone wants to find a bargain, but by going to these illegal shops in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways area, consumers are not only funding criminality, they are also putting themselves in very real danger.

“This isn’t the first report we’ve heard of members of the public being locked in – sometimes for hours – and we’ve even received reports of customers being assaulted by staff.”

City of London Police

He continued: “This latest seizure will make a dent in the finances of criminals but where Operation Vulcan will make the most impact is if members of the public start to shun these illegal businesses.

“They are bringing devastating harm to our communities and those running them have no regard for your safety or welfare.”

This action by police was part of Operation Vulcan’s mission to crackdown on the sale of counterfeit goods, in a bid to hit the finances of the gangs operating out of the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways area.