Police seize thousands of counterfeit football shirts worth £80,000 the day before the start of Euro 2020

Counterfeit football shirts worth £80,000 were seized during a warrant in London by officers from the City of London Police's Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit. 

On Thursday, June  10, officers from the City of London’s Police and Metropolitan Police Service attended the home address and storage facility of a 19-year-old male in the Wembley area of London and uncovered thousands of counterfeit t-shirts, thousands of pounds in cash and mobile phone evidence. The counterfeit merchandise had been imported from across the world just in time for the Euros, which kicks off, today, on Friday, June 11.

One man was arrested and he has since been released under investigation.

Financial enquiries are still ongoing but police believe the t-shirts were being sold both as retail and wholesale.

Detective Sergeant Andrew Masterson, from the City of London Police, said:

“This operation is an excellent example of PIPCU working collaboratively with the sports industry to tackle the sale of counterfeit goods. This individual used the start of the Euros to make financial gain and sell illegal t-shirts both online and at his make-shift store.

“The swift, joined-up action taken by police and our partners, shows there are no boundaries to our work in fighting intellectual property crime, and for the public, it is vital to remember you don’t know what other crimes you are funding when buying counterfeit goods, or the conditions those working for the criminals are conducting their business in.”

Deputy Assistance Commissioner Jane Connors, Metropolitan Police Service, said:

“Disreputable people will always exploit anyone and anything for their own personal gain. Thousands of people could have paid a lot of their hard-earned money for illegal, counterfeit t-shirts. 

“However, we are joined up with all of our policing partners and agencies to share intelligence and target criminal activity of any kind. 

“This police operation was a direct consequence of such partnership working and has stopped this individual’s criminal activities.”