Thousands of pounds of fake designer goods have been seized in a raid on a market at Brighton Racecourse.
Trading standards officers from Brighton and Hove City Council carried out the raid with help from Sussex Police on Bank Holiday Monday (2 May).
They seized bogus designer clothes and pirate CDs, DVDs and computer games from five stalls.
The clothing included shoes, boots, trainers, jeans, tops and underwear along with sunglasses and handbags.
The labels being peddled included Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, Nike, Ugg and New Era.
Trading standards officers estimated that if the goods had been genuine, they would have had a retail value in excess of £150,000.
Hundreds of items were removed by van and are now being held while further inquiries are carried out.
Trading standards manager Jo Player said: “We’re pleased with how the operation went.
“Trading in fake goods is not a victimless crime as some people like to believe.
“We know that the criminals that make and sell counterfeit goods re-invest their profits in other criminal enterprises and evade the taxes the rest of us have to pay.
“It also has a detrimental affect on legitimate local businesses.”
Trading standards officers were enforcing the Trade Marks Act 1994 and the Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988.
The two acts make it a criminal offence to sell fake goods such as designer label clothing and digital copyright material.
They empower trading standards officers to seize fake goods.
