Trading standards officers have seized counterfeit goods with a street value of more than £100,000 in two separate raids in North Yorkshire. First they swooped on a home in the Selby area, where they seized counterfeit clothing worth about £90,000. One man was arrested.
Then, in a joint operation with Lancashire trading standards, they raided two homes in Harrogate and seized around 250 bogus computer games and copying equipment. A man and a woman were arrested.
More computer games were seized in West Yorkshire, where another man was arrested, and at a market in Lancashire.
Richard Flinton, of North Yorkshire trading standards, said one of the homes raided in Harrogate had effectively been operating as a "copying factory" to produce the bogus computer games.
Fake designer clothing seized in Selby included bogus Calvin Klein, Yves St Laurent, Versace and Nike gear, he added. Both operations had been the result of extensive investigations, the clothing raids planned by North Yorkshire trading standards alone and the computer games swoop the result of a joint operation with officers in Lancashire, he said.
But he warned despite the successes there were still plenty of counterfeiters keen to cash in on the Christmas rush. All four people arrested have been released on bail pending further investigation.
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