Fake football shirt scam cracked by police forces

A MULTI-million pound international counterfeiting operation has been smashed in a joint operation between police in the North and gardaí.

The forces assisted police in Turkey in cracking a fake football shirt scam involving Manchester United and Liverpool replica tops.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said both forces played a 'significant role' in providing information which enabled their Turkish colleagues to raid a factory earlier this week that was producing counterfeit football tops.

The final destination of the shirts was believed to be the Irish market, a spokesman said.

The Turkish police found quantities of both Manchester United and Liverpool tops in production.

Last March Irish police carried out an operation which resulted in their biggest ever seizure of counterfeit goods.

That seizure, valued at more than 2 million, also contained a substantial quantity of Manchester United and Liverpool shirts.

The haul was found in property located just south of the border which was owned by a businessman from Northern Ireland.

Detective Superintendent Andy Sproule, head of the PSNI Serious and Organised Crime Squad, said: "This has been a very successful operation and an excellent example not only of cross-border policing on the island of Ireland, but also in international policing."

He added: "To see the seizing of counterfeit goods go beyond the market stall and even the distributor right to the source the manufacturer is very satisfying for police officers."

He said preventing counterfeit goods from being manufactured meant fewer fake goods would make it to the streets with less chance of consumers purchasing substandard and illegal products.