Officials have closed down four traders on Manchester's 'counterfeit street' as part of a new crackdown on pedlars of fake goods.
Acting on a court order, police and council officials slapped closure orders on a row of units on Great Ducie Street in the Strangeways area of Manchester city centre, which for decades has been a centre for the trade in knock-off gear.
The four units, numbered 175, 177, 179 and 181, were known to trading standards officials for a 'long-standing association with criminal behaviour', according to Manchester City Council.
The sale of counterfeit goods and clothes 'has been traced back to' the dilapidated properties, covered in black-painted plywood, 'on numerous occasions', the council said in a statement. The town hall also noted what passing motorists have seen for years, that 'spotters' were regularly seen outside the buildings and that the location is 'known to be a persistent source of anti-social behaviour'.
The units comprise four separate buildings which are themselves divided inside, 'creating a self-contained marketplace for fake goods', said the council.
During Friday's swoop, it emerged that electricity was being illegally abstracted from the properties and officials from Electricity North West were to disconnect the supply.
The raid followed an order granted at a hearing of Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Thursday for the units to be closed down, although Chai n Coffee Convenience store was not covered by the order.
The order requires the closure of the affected properties for three months, with a ban on anyone entering apart from registered landlords, members of the emergency services or council officials.
The four landlords of the properties concerned were also ordered to pay the council costs of £4,000.
During Friday's operation, officers from Manchester City Council’s trading standards, neighbourhoods and anti-social behaviour teams were joined by Greater Manchester Police to enforce the closure order.
Back in 2016, a government report concluded that Cheetham Hill was THE knock-off capital of the UK, a business so ingrained in our culture that none of the many police and trading standards raids which had gone before managed to snuff it out, despite dodgy goods worth millions being seized by the authorities.
Those raids have continued but they don't appear to stop the trade in fakes. The dealing in counterfeits continued even during lockdown, the M.E.N. revealed in 2021.
Following the latest operation, Coun Luthfur Rahman, deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said: “This is one of the largest closure orders we’ve secured as a council and is the fourth we’ve secured along this road in the past 18 months.
"We know the negative impact that criminality has on this area and know the detriment it has on the local community. However, we want to make it very clear through our actions today – there isn’t anywhere criminals can hide. They will be caught.
"With our partners in Greater Manchester Police, UK Border Force and HMRC we are working tirelessly to stamp out counterfeit goods crime, and create neighbourhoods that are safe, vibrant and thriving."
Detective Superintendent Neil Blackwood, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "This is a great example of what multi-agency partnerships can achieve.
"We have caused significant disruption to the criminal fraternity in Cheetham Hill and on the crackdown of counterfeit goods and clothing.
"I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work and we are very much looking forward to continuing to stamp out the illegal activity in Cheetham Hill, as well as across Greater Manchester."
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