News
Police seize over £3 million worth of counterfeit goods during Cheetham Hill raids
"We believe the thousands of goods seized would have supplied gangs in Cheetham Hill, selling fake goods across the country this Christmas."
Over £3 million worth of counterfeit goods have been seized from Cheetham Hill over the last week during 10 raids as part of a “crackdown”.
According to a statement shared by Greater Manchester Police (GMP), officers from The City of London Police, North West Regional and Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU), Border Force, Immigration, and local officers from the Cheetham Hill neighbourhood team carried out a warrant on Lockett Street and Bury New Road yesterday morning, and successfully managed to seize £1 million worth of goods.
The counterfeit goods found and seized during the raids included everything from clothing and accessories, to bags, perfume, jewellery, and more.
This was the tenth raid carried out by the local officers and partners, and forms part of GMP’s Operation’s ‘Magpie and Cranium’ – which aim to tackle “the illegal distribution of counterfeit items”, and tackle “the supply of illicit prescription drugs”.
Six men, all aged between 36 and 61, have been arrested and released under investigation pending further enquiries, according to GMP.
Speaking following the raids, Inspector William Jennings-Wharton – from the Cheetham Neighbourhood team – explained: “This is all part of our continued work to tackle organised crime taking place in Cheetham Hill and I want to reassure the local community that we are listening to their concerns and this week’s action is all part of our continued crackdown.
“Counterfeit goods and drug dealing will not be tolerated and all of these raids are a huge step in really driving a wedge in organised crime in the area.”
He continued: “Counterfeit goods are not a victimless crime.
“Though these desired items may look good and are cheap, they are funding a wider picture that involves money laundering, organised crime and cheap labour [and] the profits from such businesses can be used to fund other serious crime, and often with that comes violence which can have a devastating ripple effect on communities and nearby legitimate businesses.”
“This operation will have severely disrupted organised crime groups linked to counterfeit goods,” added Detective Chief Inspector Suzanne Ferris, of the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU).
“We believe the thousands of goods seized would have supplied gangs in Cheetham Hill, selling fake goods across the country this Christmas.”
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council added: “Counterfeit crime runs far deeper than just the sale of knock-off coats and handbags [as] there are deep links to other criminal enterprises and the sale of fake goods only puts money in the hands of criminals.
“We remain committed to tackling this practice at the source and will continue to work with our partners in the police to secure prosecution against perpetrators.
“And get fake goods off our streets.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Jackass star Bam Margera cancels Manchester shows due to ‘injury’ after street fight video emerges
Danny Jones
Former Jackass star Bam Margera has had to cancel both of his Manchester shows just hours before the first event was supposed to take place due to injury.
The skater, TV personality, filmmaker and former stunt performer is currently in the UK for his Q&A tour and live interview series with DJ and presenter Matt Stocks, having recently played in Glasgow and a pair of shows in the Republic of Ireland.
However, the 44-year-old has unexpectedly had to cancel both of his intimate conversation dates at Gorilla in the city centre, with the venue citing “unforeseen complications emerging from a recent injury”.
He was set to play this evening and again next week on Tuesday, 30 April, with the shows billed as somewhat of a meet and greet with Margera and him “talking from the heart”.
The news comes less than 24 hours after Margera shared a clip of him on the phone complaining to police in the US after a video of him fighting on a street in LA surfaced online.
While details surrounding how the scrap arose and the identity of the other man in the video still remain scarce, Margera has officially claimed self-defence. He can be heard shouting several expletives in the man’s direction throughout the altercation.
Responding to what he called a ‘bum fight’ on his other Instagram page, he tells 911: “Get a police officer here. Los Angeles Police Department is fucking worthless…
“You should be ashamed of yourselves… It’s been two hours of us trying to sleep and, fucking, this dude’s throwing shit everywhere and nobody showed up.”
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Speaking to TMZ, a representative from his team reiterated that the unidentified male was the aggressor and eventually exited the situation with both parties leaving without injury at the time.
That being said, is still unclear as to whether the incident and the cancellation of his Gorilla shows in Manchester are linked.
Offering a separate statement directly, he added: “I’m not going to be threatened or attacked without defending myself and my friends or people trying to just walk by this idiot, I aimed only to neutralize the threat and ensure the safety of my crew.”
Bam’s rep told the outlet that the altercation ended with no injuries and the aggressor eventually departed and he is still yet to issue a response after calling off the remainder of his dates.
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Featured Images — Bam Margera (via Instagram)
News
FA Cup final confirmed for 3pm kick-off time as Metropolitan Police stress safety for fans
Danny Jones
The start time for the 2023/24 FA Cup final has officially been confirmed with holders Manchester City and challengers Manchester United set to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, 25 May.
It’s a Manc final for the second year running and yet another Manchester Derby this year as City beat Chelsea on penalties to try and defend one of their trophies from last season and Man United did just about enough to scrape through against Coventry City this past weekend.
Logistics and travel arrangements for the conclusion of last year’s FA Cup proved problematic, with the Metropolitan Police stressing that they needed the schedule brought forward to try and help curb crowd trouble – the first time the final had been reverted back to a traditional 3pm start since 2011.
Kick-off times for the knockout tournament have varied for the last three finals, having taken place at 4:45 and 5:15pm in the two years prior to 2023’s first-ever all-Manchester final, but it looks as though the same rationale has been put in place once again.
As per an official statement by the FA, the final has now been officially confirmed as 3pm BST which has been agreed with local authorities, members of the Safety Advisory Group and broadcasters, as well as with the clubs who must take the time needed for fans to travel to and from Wembley into consideration.
While pockets of fighting broke out before and after the game last year, it was deemed that this time would still be the best kick-off time for all parties involved and there will, of course, be an increased police presence in London for the game next month.
Although prioritising safety comes as welcome news, it’ll no doubt prove to be a blow to broadcasters who prefer later kick-offs when eyeing up peak audience numbers; the game is also set to clash with ITV’s coverage of the rugby as the Investec Champions Cup final is also due to start at 2:45pm.
With last season’s historic FA Cup final being the first time the two sides had met in the final in the entire history of the oldest competition in all of football, it rounded off a massive year of viewing figures for the tournament which has continued to hit record numbers in 2024.
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The game will once again be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and ITV1; ITVX, UTV, as well as STV, and there will no doubt be huge screenings of the game all over Greater Manchester, where an increased police presence is also expected.
With Man City having dropped out of the Champions League, this year’s FA Cup final could see them defend the first of their treble for last season. As for their fierce and historic rivals, this is the second year in a row that both United’s men’s and women’s teams have made it to their respective FA Cup finals.
Is it going to be back-to-back FA Cups for the Blues or are the Reds going to make it two trophies in Erik ten Hag’s first two seasons?
Featured Images — @brentflanders (via Flickr)/FA Cup (via X)