POLICE have seized more than £30m of fake goods during a three-year crackdown in Glasgow's Barras market.
Exactly 100 arrests were made during the course of the operation, which led to the seizure of counterfeit clothing, shoes, bags, electronics, jewellery and tobacco, all labelled as designer gear.
The items were were found by police and Trading Standards officers during Operation Salang, which was set up to cut down on illegal counterfeit trade and protect the intellectual property of brands.
Read more: Glasgow's notorious Barras earmarked as arts, events and music quarter in £30m plans
A number of stalls were removed from the Barras and new businesses are being encouraged to set up. The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council have allocated £5 million to regenerate the area.
The seizures came about after intelligence gathered by the police, trading standards officers and officials from the brands involved on specific traders was compiled and disseminated by the IPO.
Former police officer Huw Watkins, Head of Intelligence at the IPO, said: "It started just over two years ago in response to the sort of criminality we were seeing in the area around the Barras.
"It was quite nasty. During the past three years there has been a steady flow of work."
The number of illegal traders operating at the market has grown in recent years, with some more than ready to defend their turf.
BBC Reporter Sam Poling was attacked during an investigation into illegal sales of cigarettes at the market, and sustained bruising to her hand during the incident in 2011.
Mr Watkins added that individual rogue traders were identified by covert surveillance undertaken throughout the Barras by various agencies.
Read more: Remember how fun and busy the Barras was? Here's what it looked like
All were then targeted after the information was shared with the police. In one case company officials concerned about their trademarks being infringed passed on information to the police which led to one man's house being subjected to proceeds of crime legislation, after he had already had £17,000 in cash seized.
The intelligence chief said: "This operation has been a great example of how law enforcement agencies can work together.
"There was a political will in Scotland to crackdown on this type of crime, and that made things a lot easier. It's about putting the right intelligence in the right hands.
Read more: How a £6.3m investment is transforming the Barras
Police Scotland said although selling fake goods can seem like a victimless crime, the proceeds often fund other criminal activities.
Chief inspector David Pettigrew said: "This operation has been a major success and I'm very pleased that this area, now free of criminal counterfeiters, will be regenerated. Legitimate business can now thrive in Barras Market once again.
"Members of the public can sometimes see the sale of counterfeit goods as a victimless crime.
"People should remember that although it may seem like a bargain, the proceeds from this illicit activity funds other types of criminality such as drug dealing and prostitution."
The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) - responsible for protecting patents, designs, trademarks and copyright - was involved in the operation.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister for Intellectual Property, said: "Barras Market has a bright future. Working with our partners we have ended the reign of criminality in this area.
"Legitimate businesses, previously undercut and threatened by counterfeit traders, are returning and I am very happy to see that the area is being regenerated."
Trading Standards officer Linda Gray said: "Regeneration of the area is well under way with £5 million specifically being allocated for on-going work.
"Six buildings which were previously empty are now being used for new ventures such as artists' studios with opportunities for young people."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article