Cheetham Hill raids: 580 tonnes of counterfeit goods worth £87m seized from shipping containers in record-breaking haul

More than 580 tonnes of items, including clothes, drugs and illicit tobacco, were found in raids on 207 shipping containers on the outskirts of Cheetham Hill.

The “monumental” haul, gathered over the past 14 days, also included nitrous oxide canisters and counterfeit vapes from a storage unit.

Greater Manchester Police estimated the loss to criminals to be about £87m.

The crackdown on fake goods is part of Operation Vulcan which has shut down 100 shops in Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said it was the largest single seizure in Europe in almost two decades.

Det Insp Christian Julien, one of Operation Vulcan’s specialist officers said: “This latest seizure by Operation Vulcan elevates Greater Manchester Police onto the global stage, placing us in the top three worldwide for a single seizure of counterfeit items

“I hope that our work so far has shown the true scale of the counterfeit trade in the UK, the majority of which was on our doorstep here in Manchester. I

“It’s important to recognise the serious impact of sophisticated and large-scale counterfeit operations like this and I would like to take this opportunity to remind members of the public of its links to serious organised crime.

“This may be our largest raid to date, but we must continue to build on these efforts to identify the criminal networks behind this activity whose only concern is making a profit, no matter what the cost is to the public.”

The force said the searches followed a covert operation combined with intelligence from the community and involved 100 officers working with multiple agencies.

GMP said it was now tracing where the items originated and working to ensure those involved were arrested.

Phil Lewis, Director General at the Anti-Counterfeiting Group said: "This is one of the largest recorded seizures of counterfeit goods worldwide and has prevented an enormous financial gain for the organised crime groups involved.

“Counterfeiting is a 21st century crime wave which destroys communities and legitimate businesses, causes an estimated 86,000 job losses per year, denies the country of much needed money for vital public services, and presents evermore dangerous products on the UK market.

“The exemplary work by Operation Vulcan and partners is vital in counteracting this growing national threat.”