Thousands of fake Chanel items and more than 11,000 illegal cigarettes have been seized from businesses in Southall during a crackdown on illicit goods.
Over the Christmas period, operations led by Ealing Council and Metropolitan Police resulted in thousands of counterfeit and illicit items being seized – including 95kgs of shisha.
During Operation Sharp, officers visited several businesses and uncovered 4,797 counterfeit mobile phone accessories from four premises in Bridge Road.
Out of the products seized, 3,300 were counterfeit batteries which are now being examined for safety reasons, a spokesman for Ealing Council said.
Raids in west London
Officers found one business dumped its illicit stock outside its shop before disappearing and uncovered a series of unsafe plugs before the operation concluded on December 19.
In a second operation, Ealing Council's trading standards officers and the Met targeted smuggled alcohol and tobacco, as well as counterfeit goods.
Among the products seized were 11,740 cigarettes, 7.92kgs of Indian tobacco, 2.90kgs of loose tobacco, 95kgs of shisha and 12.6 litres of alcohol.
Counterfeit goods seized included 2,112 Chanel items, 162 Gucci items and several fake Chanel electric lamps, which posed a high fire and electrocution risk.
Speaking after the raids, Ealing Police licence sergeant Graham Edwards said: "Smuggled and counterfeit alcohol is a very serious issue and it places innocent members of the public at a risk of serious harm.
“Ealing Police licensing, in partnership with Ealing Council, is committed to reducing the amount of counterfeit smuggled goods within the borough and will continue to target offenders taking robust enforcement action.”
During the second operation, which concluded on December 8, Ealing Council's food safety team also inspected five restaurants and four shops.
A council spokesman said that a number of non-compliances were identified during these inspections.
The spokesman said: “[Non-compliances] included inadequate disinfection procedures, poor cross-contamination controls, poor structural standards and out-of-date products on sale.
“A total of two notices – for pest activity within the food preparation areas and inadequate cooling practices – were served on food businesses.
“Revisits will be carried out to assess compliance in the coming weeks.”
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