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Council seized £4.3m worth of counterfeit goods from Manchester’s streets in 2025

Emily Sergeant - 9th January 2026

A whopping £4.3 million of counterfeit goods were seized from Manchester’s streets in 2025, the Council has revealed.

Now that 2025 has come to end, Manchester City Council has announced that its Trading Standards Team seized and destroyed more than 43,500 counterfeit items in the last year – ranging from everything like fake handbags, trainers, and jewellery, to electronic items, sportswear, children’s toys, sunglasses, and much more.

Through ‘exemplary partnership work’ with Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the Council says this criminal industry has taken a ‘substantial hit’ over the past 12 months.

It’s also estimated that the goods seized would have lost the industry up to £43 million.

Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, who is the Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council, said the Council hopes this action ‘sends a message that we will not tolerate this harmful trade.’

Rochdale counterfeit goods — The Council seized £4.3m worth of counterfeit goods from Manchester’s streets in 2025 / Credit: GMP

“The counterfeit industry was substantially embedded in our communities, but through their diligence and the support of our valued partners we have driven away some of the worst offenders and are beginning the process of regenerating the areas of Manchester that were long blighted by this sort of crime,” she added.

It’s not just counterfeit goods that’ve been targeted either, as a substantial push was also made throughout the year to crack-down on the sale and distribution of illicit tobacco.

In total, 316,625 cigarettes – which is equivalent to nearly 16,000 individual packs – were seized by the Council and police.

258kg of hand rolling tobacco was also seized, as well as more than 18,000 illegal vapes that don’t comply with UK laws or regulations.

Detective Chief Inspector Melanie Johnson, who is the lead coordinator of Operation Machinize for GMP, says the police takes any information it receives about counterfeit trading ‘very seriously’.

“We will continue to investigate all aspects of this criminality to protect our communities from the harms of illegal products.”

Featured Image – GMP