Counterfeit goods and illegal money lending are among offences in the sights of Programme Challenger, Greater Manchester Police’s work against serious organised crime.
A multi-agency week of action in November has seen the police work with local authorities, Trading Standards, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, the Illegal Money Lending Team, HMRC, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, Environmental Health and other agencies across Greater Manchester.
In Cheetham Hill officers targeted the sale of counterfeit goods. Police report that the week has seen £5m in fakes seized, and 13 people arrested for counterfeit offences.
The authorities point out that as well as damaging law abiding local businesses, sale of counterfeit goods aids other serious crime – such shops are set up by the premises owners, who then employ illegal workers to staff them.
Detective Inspector Chris Mossop said: “If a person buys a fake jacket, handbag or watch, they are indirectly lining the pockets of criminal gangs, who use the cash to fund further illegal and often violent activity, or the purchase of guns and drugs. Owners not only employ those who are in the country illegally, but actually have a hand in arranging their illegal entry to start with.
“Make no mistake, the sale of counterfeit goods is not a victimless crime – the peddling of these fakes can ruin communities, putting legitimate local companies out of pocket, and out of business.
“But it isn’t just counterfeit goods we have pursued – the week of action has been a great success in tackling loan sharking and organised crime right across the board.
“We have been working hard to not only remove these criminals and their activities from our streets, but also to reach out to local residents and businesses, to discuss their concerns and provide assistance whilst raising awareness of organised crime and how to report it.
“The work doesn’t stop here – as always, we’ll continue to go after those who seek to damage our communities, and protect the vulnerable people they seek to exploit.”
Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council’s deputy leader, said: “This week of action shows once again that organised crime groups target some of the most vulnerable people in society. We are determined to work with Greater Manchester Police to ensure these groups have no hiding place in our city and I would like to repeat our message that people across all of Manchester’s communities should have the confidence to speak out and report anyone involved in organised crime.”
Tony Lloyd, Greater Manchester’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “We are determined to keep up the pressure on those who commit and fund criminality. We will not let these people be a scourge on our communities. But we can only do this with your help. We need the public on board and I encourage local people to say no to fake goods, no to organised crime and work with the police and local authorities to rid our neighbourhoods of these criminals and put them behind bars.”
