OPERATION VULCAN AND PARTNERS SHUT DOWN YET ANOTHER ILLEGAL COUNTERFEIT SHOP

This week, Operation Vulcan assisted Manchester City Council whilst they visited a premises on Great Ducie Street, Strangeways. This venue was previously closed by the Council, and the purpose of the visit was to ensure the building was now compliant and ready to be leased out to a legitimate business.

Unfortunately, two more counterfeit shops were discovered tucked away behind the shutters.

A lot of effort had gone into hiding this shop from authorities. Police had to force entry to a heavily secured door at the back of the building, and once inside, they were greeted with an overwhelming stench of rat urine and faeces, and two shops full of counterfeit clothing.

Not only was the building filthy, but it was also in a severely dilapidated state, therefore causing serious concern for public safety.

Inspector Andrew Torkington, one of Operation Vulcan leading officers said:

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“This must be one of the worst buildings we have come across. The shopkeepers had made their own electricity by abstracting it from a neighbouring business. They’d made multiple structural changes; it was incredibly dangerous. We don’t say this lightly. People are putting their lives at risk when entering these shops.

“The visible face of Cheetham Hill and Strangeways has changed drastically since the creation of Operation Vulcan. So far, over 80 warrants have been executed and hundreds of tonnes of counterfeit clothing have been seized and repurposed. But there is still work to be done.

“This discovery shows a handful of counterfeit shops are clinging on to the hope that Operation Vulcan will leave the area. Let this be a warning that our work has only just begun. Working with our partners, we will continue until each and every counterfeit shop is shut down and the area becomes hostile to organised crime.

 

Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council said: 

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"The ongoing work going on in partnership with Greater Manchester Police continues to make strides in the fight against counterfeit crime. Through action such as this we can see how buildings can be taken over and turned into crime hotspots. As a Council we're determined to help root these out, and work with landlords and landowners to ensure that once evicted, criminals do not return."