Westminster Council's trading standards officers have seized more than £337,000 worth of illegal and counterfeit goods from tourist shops across the West End over the past year, targeting 29 premises in central London. The most recent raid in Piccadilly uncovered fake designer items bearing brands including Gucci, Canada Goose and Miu Miu, alongside cannabis vapes, THC-infused gummies, and thousands of illegal cigarettes. Cabinet Member for Enforcement Caroline Sargent confirmed the Council is now escalating action by working with agencies, including the Treasury, to go after those higher up the illegal supply chain, with operations set to increase in both scope and frequency.
The article below was originally published in The Standard, and you can read it here.
Cannabis vapes and fake designer hats among £337k of illegal goods seized from West End tourist shops
The most recent raid, carried out by Westminster council officers in Piccadilly, uncovered a stash of counterfeit fashion items alongside dangerous and illegal products
Hundreds of fake designer hats, illegal cigarettes and cannabis vapes were among a mountain of dodgy goods worth more than £337,000 seized by trading standards officers in the heart of London's West End.
The most recent raid, carried out by Westminster council officers in Piccadilly, uncovered a stash of counterfeit fashion items alongside dangerous and illicit products, including banned single-use e-cigarettes.
Acting on intelligence, enforcement teams descended on the premises and filled bags with suspected knock-off merchandise bearing some of the world's biggest fashion names.
Among the haul were fake hats carrying labels including North Face, Stone Island, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Canada Goose and Miu Miu.
Officers also seized 60 illegal single-use vapes, 46 packs of illicit cigarettes and four cannabis products, including THC-laced vapes and gummy sweets.
A further 241 travel plug adapters, 162 mobile phone charging cables and 42 mobile phone accessories were also impounded as part of the operation.
It is one of 29 central London shops that have been raided by town hall officers in the last year as Westminster council says it is stepping up efforts to crack down on rogue traders cashing in on unsuspecting tourists.
Caroline Sargent, Westminster’s cabinet member for enforcement, said:
“Our trading standards officers are on the streets to ensure that shoppers in Westminster get what they pay for. Fake designer goods inevitably prove a false bargain and are usually poorly made.
"As the lead on enforcement, I am going to ensure we go up through the gears on both the scale and rate of these operations. Like many, I am tired of our streets being used by these emporiums of tat to sell knock-off goods and fakes.
"Collecting bin bags of vapes and fake hats is useful in disrupting unscrupulous traders and we will keep doing that."
The councillor also warned that authorities are now setting their sights higher up the chain, working with agencies including the Treasury to target those supplying the illegal trade.
In the last financial year alone, council officers seized 22,467 illicit items worth more than £337,000, recovered goods from 29 different shops and removing more than 9,000 illegal single-use vapes from the streets.
