Versace t-shirts, North Face jackets and Paco Rabanne perfume among knock-offs seized in counterfeit goods raid

Officers from Newcastle, Gateshead and South Tyneside councils and Northumbria Police executed search warrants at homes in the town, as well as the Elswick area of Newcastle and at a self-storage facility in Dunston and discovered hundreds of items claiming to be major brands such as Versace, Paco Rabanne, Nike, The North Face and the Minions from popular animated film Despicable Me.

Among the items seized were several T-shirts bearing the Versace name, bottles of Paco Rabanne Lady Million and Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium perfume, plastic Minions toys, North Face jackets, Nike trainers, and designer handbags – all of which officers believe may not be the genuine article.

Coun Nick Kemp, Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member for environment and regulatory services, said: “This is a significant haul of suspected illegal goods, and this joint operation sends out a very clear message that we will act against those who would seek to sell them in our communities.

“To anyone thinking of dealing in such products, let us be clear – we take matters of illegal and counterfeit goods very seriously and there is no place for them in our city.

“We will investigate any illegal activities, we will catch the perpetrators and we will look to put them before the courts.

“I’d like to congratulate the officers for a very positive result and urge anyone with information about any other fake or potentially dangerous items to get in touch.”

Thousands of suspected illegal cigarettes and kilos of tobacco were also seized.

If you have any information about the sale of illegal tobacco, you can report it completely anonymously to the Keep It Out campaign at https://keep-it-out.co.uk/

If you wish to report criminal activity by a business in the South Tyneside area, you can call 0191 424 7887 or email [email protected]