Gardai linked to raid on gang in Turkey

An anonymous call from a member of the public to the Crimestoppers phone line in Ireland last March has helped Turkish police to smash a multi-million euro counterfeiting operation.

Turkish police raided a facility earlier in the week which they believe was the base of one of the international crime gangs which have been flooding the Irish and British markets with fake sportswear, mainly counterfeit Premiership football jerseys.

Gardaí said information collected during a major investigation in March by officers in the Republic and those working in the Police Service of Northern Ireland had been passed to the police in Turkey.

The Turkish authorities used the intelligence to trace the goods to their country and then moved against the gang this week.

Replica kits of some of the best-known soccer teams in Europe were being manufactured when the Turkish officers struck.

The PSNI said the Irish forces had played a "significant role" in the operation.

Det Supt 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 in international policing.

"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."

Following a call to the Crimestoppers line last March, gardaí from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and PSNI officers mounted an investigation into a premises in Louth where they believed counterfeit sports goods were being stored.

The warehouse at Carrickarnon, Dromad, was raided by gardaí from Dundalk and the Garda anti-racketeering unit. They found one of the biggest hauls of counterfeit clothing seized in recent years.

The €1.2 million haul consisted of high quality Manchester United, Liverpool, Celtic and Rangers football jerseys. All were boxed and ready to be sold.

A Northern Irish business man in his 50s was arrested.

It is estimated counterfeiting accounts for more than €300 billion in lost revenue for EU companies every year.

The annual cost to Irish firms is put at €750 million by Revenue's anti-counterfeiting group.

While organised international gangs are responsible for much of the trade around the world, smaller smugglers acting alone have become a major problem as the EU has become more integrated.

New EU legislation was introduced earlier this year designed to make it easier for customs and revenue authorities to initiate prosecutions against those involved in smuggling.

Customs officials can now confiscate counterfeit goods being brought into member-states in holiday luggage. Even if holiday makers stay within their duty-free limits, goods can still be confiscated.

The new legislation leaves it to the discretion of individual customs officials to decide whether a quantity of counterfeit goods found in holiday luggage could be defined as commercial smuggling.

Additional reporting by PA