Police in Manchester have seized over £6 million worth of counterfeit goods from the city’s notorious ‘Counterfeit Street’ as part of a crackdown known as Operation Vulcan. The Greater
Manchester Police has reported that historically the Easter period has been a busy time for counterfeit shops in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways areas, but this year the trade has been disrupted. In the past two weeks, 18 shops have been shut down and police have encountered dilapidated buildings with dangerous homemade electricity, hidden weapons, shops without proper means of escape, and rat urine and faeces littering the area.
The seized items will be repurposed and recycled, benefiting the community with items such as coats, hats, insulation, and even energy for houses. The GMP says the ‘relentless action by Operation Vulcan’ is taking its toll on the illegitimate trade, with millions of pounds worth of goods being removed from the criminal market. It is believed that around 33 organised crime gangs from across the country have links to the area.
Since the launch of Operation Vulcan last autumn, police believe the total number of dodgy shops in Strangeways has been slashed from over 200 to less than 10. Over 100 people have been arrested on suspicion of a variety of offences in that time, including 38 for drugs offences. Inspector Andy Torkington, one of Operation Vulcan’s specialist officers, said the police have been relentlessly targeting the illegitimate shops but are aware of the few remaining units who are attempting to operate in the area. He added that they will be targeting these premises imminently, and investigations will continue as they seek out and arrest those involved.
An earlier raid on the area saw police seize £60k in fake cosmetics and beauty products, which were found to contain traces of cyanide and human urine. Over 400 perfume bottles and seven tonnes of counterfeit clothing and accessories were also found, including knock-off beauty products from fake designer brands such as Chanel, Armani, Dior, and Hugo Boss. In addition, over 50 people were found being held against their will in a shop on Great Dulcie Street, in a building used to store goods, littered with rat urine and faeces. After freeing the trapped people, the Greater Manchester Police found dangerous infrastructure and signs of exploitative labour, including an underground homemade air conditioning system the staff had made by drilling holes into the pipes on the ceiling.
Operation Vulcan has received unwavering support from partner agencies across Greater Manchester, which will enable them to stamp out the criminality and build stronger communities. However, the police acknowledge that the criminality has been embedded into the area for decades and that five months of relentless action will not solve it. They call for the community to be side by side with them, sharing information, so they can act upon it and bring these people to justice. The feedback from the public has been overwhelmingly supportive, but there is still more to be done. Photo by Mikey, Wikimedia commons.