"This is just the tip of the iceberg": Officers 'weakening the grip’ of criminal gangs in the UK’s counterfeit capital
manchestereveningnews.co.ukPolice are ‘weakening the grip’ crime gangs have on the ‘UK’s capital of counterfeit goods’ as part of a targeted operation now in its fourth month.
First implemented in November last year, Greater Manchester Police’s Operation Vulcan aims to dismantle organised crime gangs in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways, areas responsible for around 50% of all counterfeit trade in the UK.
Criminals in both areas have had ‘seemingly free rein’ to run counterfeit enterprises - selling everything from fake clothing and perfume to illicit prescription drugs - for years without retribution.
But Operation Vulcan aims to be a ‘change of tactic’ for officers in their crackdown on fake goods. READ MORE: Hundreds flock to be 'part of history' as new £53million road which residents have campaigned for decades opens The National Trading Standards estimates that around £8.6 billion is made each year from counterfeit goods across the country, proving to be an extremely lucrative business for criminals.
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