UK’s biggest fake goods racket exposed

Nirmon Grover and Ajit Arura were jailed for three years each for their part in importing fake designer goods after more than 80,000 items were seized at a storage unit in Alperton, northwest London. 

The fake haul consisted of 34,100 pairs of Nike trainers and Ugg boots, as well as Louis Vuitton bags, designer fragrances, headphones and fake Rolexes and Breitling watches – which if they were real would have been worth in excess of £17million. 

Experts believe this is the most sophisticated operation they have ever come across, involving a global supply link to China and Europe, and the sentencing was the result of a five-year investigation. 

Andrew Clooney, Senior Prosecutor at Brent Council, said: ‘The investigation stretched back a number of years as each time we went back to the storage facility, more counterfeit items were seized. 

Our partners at HMRC were then reporting seizures of goods at the docks in Southampton and Tilbury. It was no doubt a sophisticated operation. 

‘We are committed to keeping counterfeit and unsafe goods off the streets and this haul should act as a warning to other rogue businesses that we will leave no stone unturned in investigating and prosecuting people who look to gain from the proceeds of criminal activity.’ 

The two men were sentenced on charges relating to four different seizures of substantial quantities of counterfeit goods from June 2008 to February 2010. 

The fake goods will now be destroyed. 

Source – Daily Mail 4 August 2014

*Please note that Addmaster was acquired by the Polygiene Group AB in January 2021, so all news articles prior to that date will still be branded as Addmaster.