Police say nearly all counterfeit shops in Cheetham Hill have now been shut down

Greater Manchester Police believe they have targeted some of the last remaining shops selling counterfeit goods in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways.

On Wednesday February 22nd, Operation Vulcan descended on Harris Street targeting what officers believe to be some of the last remaining shops selling fake brands.

They executed warrants on four buildings and found a total of 12 units masquerading as legitimate traders. Approximately 20 tonnes of counterfeit items were seized whilst officers from Trading Standards turned out in support of the operation and seized hundreds of illegal vapes from one of the units.

Though the force has said that the area is not yet completely clear of the illegal stores selling knock-off goods and that there is still ‘work to be done’ to eradicate them. The seized goods will be ‘repurposed’ through ‘recycling’ and ‘changed into usable items for the community’.

Sergeant Daniel Cullum said: “These warrants are yet another success for Operation Vulcan. The work doesn’t stop here however and the investigation to seek out and arrest those who have been distributing and selling counterfeit items from these units is now in motion.

“We had great support from our partner agencies throughout the day – including Immigration Enforcement, MCC Trading Standards, Anti Counterfeit Group ambassadors and internal departments such as a TAU and local NPT teams.

“The sheer volume of counterfeit items that we have seized this week is worth millions of pounds to criminal enterprises. All these goods will now be re-purposed, recycled, and changed into usable items for the community.

“We have had amazing success in stamping out these counterfeit stores but there are a few units remaining that are still attempting to operate in the area. We will be targeting these premises imminently and as the shops start to disappear, we will be targeting those higher up the chain who for too long have felt above the law and out of reach.”