MORE than £200,000 worth of illegal goods, including alcohol and tobacco, have been seized in Bolton over the last 12 months.

Bolton Council's trading standards team have carried out operations over the last year to target the criminal network which peddles both counterfeit and illicit goods in Bolton.

Products seized include illegal tobacco, fake alcohol, counterfeit clothing, cosmetics, unsafe children’s toys and shisha pipes from a number of business premises throughout the borough.

Investigations concluded that all the goods were illegal for sale in the UK and as a result, the local authority says, its trading standards team have successfully removed harmful products from sale and supply. All the illegal goods will now be destroyed.

Cllr Hilary Fairclough, deputy council leader, said: “Thanks to thorough investigations by our trading standards team, this vast amount of counterfeit goods has been removed from the streets. “This sends a clear message that illegal activities will not be tolerated.

“Counterfeit and illicit goods can be dangerous and unsafe for buyers as they rarely comply with proper safety requirements. The sale of counterfeit and illicit goods also undermines legitimate local businesses.

“You might think you are buying a bargain, but you are just giving money to criminals and potentially putting yourself at risk.

“Buying counterfeit and illicit goods encourages the types of traders and businesses we want to keep out of Bolton and strengthens the hold criminals have in our communities. We urge people to think twice before they buy such goods.

“The trading standards department is focussed on disrupting these businesses into 2022 but as ever we are reliant on good quality information from members of the public who will no longer tolerate the way illegal goods affect our borough.”

Information on counterfeit goods being sold, can be reported to trading standards by emailing trading.standards@bolton.gov.uk