Wednesday 3 June 2015 saw a joint raid by TRAP and Portsmouth Trading Standards of Merch Hut, a t shirt retailer in Cosham near Portsmouth. Trading standards officers found a number of counterfeit music t-shirts and hoodies on display which were being manufactured on site, including 1D, Foo Fighters, The Beatles, Katy Perry, Nirvana, Union…

Ian Guy of Stourbridge UK was jailed yesterday for 2 years after pleading guilty to several charges related to the sale of fake goods earlier this month. Ebay listings showed hundreds and hundreds of counterfeit T-shirts were being offered for sale by Guy bearing motifs including Harry Potter, Clockwork Orange, Disney Justin Bieber, The Ramones,…

After a successful conviction supported by TRAP, Manchester Crown Court proceeds of crime act hearing has passed judgement. The forger who sold thousands of items of fake One Direction merchandise has been ordered to pay the state his £140,000 ill-gotten gains. Gary Simpson worked as an amateur football club kitman and used equipment intended for…

Air Raid Clothing of Milton Keynes using the EBay seller name airraid-clearance was raided yesterday. Following weeks of observations and surveillance, TRAP partners Surelock concluded an investigations into the major eBay seller and raided under warrant with the Police and Milton Keynes Trading Standards, the screen print factory / warehouse which has been extremely busy…

Our partners Surelock, working with Westminster City Council Trading Standards and the Immigration Service, carried out a series of raids on retail outlets in Oxford Street, central London, seizing hundreds of counterfeit music artists’ merchandise and other products. One man was arrested and other prosecutions will follow.

22-year-old Hosein Vafaie has been sentenced to 11 weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months, for selling counterfeit clothing and accessories at a Chichester store following a seizure by West Sussex County Council Trading Standards. Vafaie, of Blenheim Place, Brighton, was prosecuted after selling the fake products, which bore well-known brands such as Cath Kidston…

In it’s continued efforts against those that sell counterfeit products, TRAP has had great success online with the help of both Ebay and Amazon’s copyright protection teams. As a trusted representative, TRAP polices marketplaces online on behalf of many copyright holders. Since December 2014, Ebay alone has helped TRAP remove 15,000 products posted by traders…

After another successful prosecution for Local Trading Standards, Surelock and TRAP members; a UK Couple were sentenced in Wolverhampton Crown Court. Goods were seized and accounts suggest that at least £180,000 worth of product manufactured by them was sold online. Artists affected included One Direction, Katy Perry, Little Mix, Lady Ga Ga, JLS and Jessie…

The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) this morning raided a factory manufacturing counterfeit goods. Three people were arrested on suspicion of making more than £100,000 profit selling the fake goods. TRAP’s partner Surelock helped police by collecting evidence by test purchasing. It was said to be the largest counterfeit factory that has been raided…

The intelligence gathering partner of TRAP, Surelock has enabled the authorities in Sussex to convict on 10 counts of trademark abuse. Aaron Davies of East Preston was also convicted and sentenced for importing weapons at Chichester Crown Court. Read more