Sutton Council seizes £53k of counterfeits from cuddly toys to vapes

Sutton Council makes sure shoppers don’t get short changed before Christmas.

The London Borough of Sutton has seized over 500 unsafe soft toys for kids and 2,000 illegal vapes, plus over 60 accessories worth around £27,000 across Sutton.

The Council seized dangerous cuddly toys, vapes, vape accessories, shisha and counterfeit phone accessories among other goods in Sutton High Street ahead of Christmas. This means festive buyers can now shop safely in the knowledge that their gifts are not fake, dangerous and unreliable.

Another stage of raids took place in Kingston which revealed even more counterfeit goods, from more illegal vapes to 77 nicotine wraps, 35 kilos of shisha and 12 heaters - all worth an estimated additional £26,000.

Cllr David Bartolucci, Chair of Housing, Economy and Business Committee Committee, said:

“Counterfeiting short changes customers. I am pleased to see these remarkable raids were successful after sellers tried to cheat people out of their money.

“We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the van-loads of so-called genuine merchandise the Trading Standards team found, worth £53,000 across Sutton and Kingston.

“Thanks to Sutton’s actions, residents won’t be wasting hard-earned money during the cost of living crisis ahead of Christmas only to find their items are fake or dangerous.”

If you suspect any item you purchase may be fake then contact the trading standards team via their partner the  Citizens Advice consumer helpline: 0808 223 1133.