£140,000 worth of fake goods seized from Oxford Street candy stores

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

Officers seized £140,000 worth of fake Gucci and Apple products after raiding two candy stores in Oxford Street yesterday.

They also found illegal vapes, charging banks and cables that are being sold to customers at “extortionate” prices.

Westminster council’s trading standards team and Met officers raided the shops as part of a crackdown on the sale of counterfeit products in London’s busiest shopping street.

Officers retrieved fake Kenzo and Transport for London (TfL)-themed phone covers, Apple earphones and illegal vapes said to have been imported from China.

An officer said they were tipped off by customers who had been overcharged for goods. They said: “In terms of vapes, we received complaints from customers who said they bought one for £25, but when they checked their bank statement, they realised they were charged £100.”

In one store alone, the team also confiscated 286 illegal vapes, 300 counterfeit phone covers and 991 unsafe charging leads, according to the council.

In the second store, the team seized £96k worth of fake power banks, sunglasses, phone covers, ear pods, travel adaptors as well as hats and scarves.

They also found nearly 3,000 illegal disposable vapes which contained excessive levels of nicotine. Much of the seized kit had no safety labelling.

According to Westminster City Council, this brings the total amount of fake goods seized from US candy and souvenir shops to more than £1m in the last 15 months.

Pictured top: Illegal vapes seized during raids in Oxford Street yesterday (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)