TENS of thousands of potentially dangerous mobile chargers were discovered following a second raid on an industrial estate in Southall.

Nearly 67,000 chargers and counterfeit toys were uncovered by trading standards officers in the latest raid led by Ealing Council at Charles House.

Trading standards teams from Ealing, Harrow, Brent, Enfield, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond, Hounslow and Hertfordshire councils worked with the UK Border Agency, police and HM Revenue and Customs.

There were also safety experts on hand to inspect four businesses at Charles House and another at Southall Enterprise Centre on Bridge Road on Tuesday last week.

It was the second major raid in just over a fortnight to clamp down on businesses selling unsafe or counterfeit goods.

Intelligence on Charles House has revealed it as a major source of a number of unsafe and counterfeit goods for sale in other London boroughs and the Home Counties.

An electrical safety expert tested one of the mobile phone chargers on site and confirmed that wiring in it could cause it to overheat.

The trader was banned from selling any of the 66,900 chargers, which appeared to be hidden away in a secret room, until the results of further tests are known.

Counterfeit Apple iPhone covers were also discovered and HMRC seized records from three businesses suspected of not paying tax for further investigation.

Two men were arrested for immigration issues and one person wanted by police was also arrested.

Last month’s operation resulted in a range of children’s toys including baby’s rattles and remote controlled cars, and lighters being seized from Charles House traders for further safety testing.

Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council said: “Our priority is to protect people from buying unsafe goods or being ripped off with poor quality imitations.

“By working with colleagues from other boroughs, as well as other partners we can have a much bigger impact and I thank everyone for their hard work.”