£22,000 worth of fake Nike trainers seized
More than 1,000 pairs of counterfeit trainers, worth up to £22,000, have been seized by Northamptonshire Trading Standards.
The 1,500 trainers, which had Nike trademarks, were found in 78 boxes when police stopped a white Mercedes van near junction 16 on the M1.
Officers used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to arrest the driver and passenger, who were travelling north through Northamptonshire.
A police spokesman said: "This vehicle was a white Mercedes Sprinter van and it was part of an ANPR stop on the motorway. Two people were arrested and have been bailed pending further inquiries."
Nike confirmed to Trading Standards the trainers were counterfeit, and a 30-year-old man from Huddersfield and a 28-year-old woman from Leicester were interviewed and released on bail in the ongoing investigation.
John Vincent, Trading Standards officer, said the seizure was "significant" for the department, which donated seized counterfeit clothing to orphans and families in Liberia earlier this year as part of a partnership with His Church Charity.
He said: "Inquiries are ongoing but we suspect they would have made their way to stalls at car boots or markets or be sold in the workplace."
County councillor Liz Tavener, cabinet member for community safety, offered advice to anyone unsure about the legitimacy of products for sale.
She said: "Northamptonshire County Council's trading standards service is committed to fighting rogue traders and cracking down on counterfeiting.
"Counterfeit goods may seem like a harmless bargain but often they are poor quality and their sale damages legitimate businesses, not to mention the fact that the proceeds from the sale of counterfeit items are often linked to other crimes.
"Anyone who needs advice about counterfeit items should contact trading standards by telephoning Consumer Direct on 08454 040506."
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