Officers seize fake goods worth £15m

The “unprecedented” seizure of hundreds of boxes of items ranging from up-market headphones, DVDs and music CDs, to counterfeit branded clothing is thought to be one of the biggest ever made by trading standards officers on the UK mainland.

Among the haul were copies of the trendy Beats by Dr Dre headphones, which usually retail for between £90 and £450 each.

It is believed the goods were destined for bootleg stalls at markets around the country in the run-up to Christmas.

The crates are now being stored at a secure site in Staffordshire, but the exact location is being withheld for security reasons.

It was initially thought the total value of the goods was about £10m, but more a more detailed stock-take has pushed that value up towards the £15m mark, according to trading standards.

The goods were discovered after a raid on premises in Birmingham by trading standards and Staffordshire Police officers on December 6.

The location came from a tip-off, after sets of bootleg headphones were seized from market stall-holders trading across Staffordshire. Nobody has been arrested, but investigations are continuing.