Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have been recognised by the Premier League for their significant contribution to tackling the sale of counterfeit merchandise at the annual Football Against Fakes conference.
The Premier League awarded GMP the Law Enforcement Agency of The Year award at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in recognition for their recent anti-counterfeiting work, including Operation Vulcan, which saw the force seize 70 tonnes of counterfeit items during a raid in Manchester in June this year.
On receiving the award, Chief Inspector Andy Torkington (pictured top, centre) from GMP Operation Vulcan said: “Our team is incredibly honoured to accept this award for Enforcement Authority of the Year at the Football Against Fakes conference this year.
“Over the past 11 months, our team have been joined by a variety of dedicated partner agencies who have given their all to tackle the organised crime associated with the counterfeit trade.
"So far, we’ve seized over 1,000 tonnes of counterfeit items, including 30,000 fake football shirts – all of which were destined for the streets of Manchester and further afield, creating a financial loss of billions of pounds to the industries and UK economy.
“These items have been made in unsanitary conditions, and often from unsafe materials, which could be potentially very dangerous for customers or their loved ones. We understand that people think they’re getting a bargain, but buying counterfeits can have very dangerous consequences, not to mention the nefarious criminality it also funds, such as the illegal drugs trade.”
'Huge developments'
Football Against Fakes, the Premier League’s annual anti-counterfeiting conference, features law-enforcement agencies from the UK and across the world coming together with clubs and the League.
A Premier League spokesperson said: “We are delighted to award Greater Manchester Police ‘Law Enforcement Agency of The Year’ at this year’s Football Against Fakes conference.
“We have made huge developments in tackling counterfeiting in football and no fan should feel the disappointment of purchasing inferior-quality fake products.
"Working together with the Clubs, our partners and law enforcement, we are committed to reducing the sale and distribution of counterfeit products around the world and Football Against Fakes is an important part of that."
The conference, now in its ninth year, gives delegates the chance to hear first-hand how agencies are working with the Premier League to tackle the sale and manufacture of illegal merchandise, as well as analysis of the emerging threats to anti-counterfeiting operations.
As well as GMP, the conference speakers included Europol, UK Border Force, Trading Standards and the Intellectual Property Office.
Working together
The day also included a panel discussion with speakers from Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC, who shared their insight from within the football industry.
Working with partners across the world, the Premier League's anti-counterfeiting programme seized more than 200,000 counterfeit items worth more than £12million last season, a record-breaking year for the programme.
At the same time, the Premier League removed over 130,000 online listings for products worth nearly £2.5m.
Since the programme began in 2007, the total number of fake products physically recovered is 2.7m items, worth £58m.
Alongside this work, Premier League clubs and kit manufacturers have made significant seizures through their own anti-counterfeiting programmes.
Working together with the clubs, partners and law enforcement, the League is committed to reducing the sale and distribution of counterfeit products around the world.
