A secret consignment of counterfeit shirts was seized as it was smuggled into Newcastle Airport. A Tyneside man who was arrested by customs officials may now face charges.
It was made apparent that he had arrived early on Tuesday after flying from Thailand to Amsterdam and then on to Tyneside.
The Evening Chronicle said that the shirts are made by children for poverty wages and can be bought for as little as 50p there.
Being sold here for £5 and £10 when the genuine Adidas shirts will cost £40 when they go on sale at midnight on Thursday night, there was obviosuly something wrong.
Dave Ellerington, of Newcastle Trading Standards, warned people not to buy the shabby copies. He said: "These are the first fake Newcastle United shirts we have seen and we are quite surprised. They are early because the strip is not on sale yet.
"People should be aware of what they are buying and they are not the genuine article. A few washes and the shirts can just fall apart.
"The shirts would probably have been flogged in pubs or markets for £5-£10.
"People might think they are getting a bargain but they are buying inferior goods.
"We have been surprised at the amount of counterfeit clothing that has been coming through often brought in by people travelling back from Thailand or Turkey. It is becoming more prevalent.
"People who smuggle in these goods are often doing so to fund a holiday or there is a known link to other smuggling such as cigarettes, tobacco and drug smuggling.
"We work closely with Customs officers. If they find items of clothing or other counterfeit goods such as watches they will seize the goods and pass them on to us. We will then have them examined by the trademark holder to confirm they are not genuine."
Those found smuggling goods can be prosecuted where they can be fined up to £10,000 under the Tradesmark Act 1994.
A spokesman for Adidas said: "We can't comment on this individual case but Adidas is, of course, concerned about counterfeit goods.
"Counterfeit goods are hard to spot but are usually inferior to the authentic product which means fans not getting value for money.
"Our brand protection department will of course work with Newcastle trading standards in whatever way is needed and we urge Newcastle United fans to buy their shirts from official outlets which will guarantee the quality of the product."
Rob Hastings-Trew, North East Customs and Excise spokesman, said: "Customs officers seized 80 Newcastle United tops from a man at Newcastle Airport on Tuesday morning.
"We have regular seizures of counterfeits. There is a ready market for football tops in the North East and the majority are smuggled in from the Far East.
"We apply a common sense approach to the seizure of counterfeit goods. If an individual has two to three things and he is not intending to make a commercial gain no action is taken. But goods will be seized where an individual is looking to make a commercial gain and no one needs 80 football shirts.
"We have quite often found that money raised through smuggling goes back into more smuggling. People who smuggle have decided to break the law."
Leave your Comments
