0:00:03 > 0:00:05In this special report, a deadly blast in what's thought to be
0:00:05 > 0:00:07a fake vodka factory in Lincolnshire.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Tonight we take you inside the booming world of fake booze.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12It's profitable.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is crazy. It's eight bottles every ten seconds.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17It can take your life.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22Dangerous to the point where a fatality may occur.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24And it's closer than you might think.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26That's actually a fake bottle. It's going to hurt people.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28You need to get it off the streets.
0:00:30 > 0:00:31You're under arrest.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Welcome to this special edition of Fake Britain.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41You'll have seen in the news that five people burnt to death
0:00:41 > 0:00:44in an explosion in what's thought to have been a fake vodka factory.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47This might sound like an extraordinary story,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51but as our investigation reveals, bogus booze is widespread
0:00:51 > 0:00:53and you don't have to be making it for it to kill you.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59In the early evening, a deadly explosion ripped through
0:00:59 > 0:01:03a Boston warehouse thought to be brewing illegal alcohol.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05Five men were found dead...
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Thought to have been trapped inside the burning building.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11There was a significant fire that spread extremely quickly.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14They believe that the unit involved was being used
0:01:14 > 0:01:16to illegally produce or brew alcohol.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20The bodies of the dead men were driven out of the industrial estate.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24The greatest single loss of life ever seen in a fire in Lincolnshire.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28It's been a struggle to identify the five dead men,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31but there is another worry.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Fake vodka production is common in Russia and eastern Europe.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Thousands die every year from the industrial chemicals
0:01:38 > 0:01:41and antifreeze passed off as vodka.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43It's poison.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46And now they're making it in Britain.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Is this what they risk bringing here?
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Back in Boston, it was only four months ago that officers
0:01:55 > 0:01:59seized fake vodka containing cleaning fluid from six shops.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Just this month in Barnsley, scientists uncovered
0:02:03 > 0:02:08rip-offs of reputable vodka brands containing crude industrial alcohol.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12Dangerous and not fit for human consumption.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15The worst case, of course, is when they're substituting
0:02:15 > 0:02:18industrial alcohol to drink it on a long-term basis.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21You can get blinded, as the worst instance.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25What's been uncovered in Boston is no one-off.
0:02:25 > 0:02:26In the past year, Customs seized
0:02:26 > 0:02:29three quarters of a million litres of illegal spirit.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37In rolling fields just outside Scarborough, police receive
0:02:37 > 0:02:41a tip-off about a group of eastern European men acting suspiciously.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Surveillance confirms their concerns,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47but when officers return with a warrant,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49the lockup is deserted and empty.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51What were they up to?
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Curiously, a massive truck is parked up nearby.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Investigators are not prepared for what's inside.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Where to start?
0:03:11 > 0:03:12This is crazy.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17The east Europeans have loaded their entire fake vodka factory
0:03:17 > 0:03:18into a getaway truck.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Well, we've clearly got ourselves a vodka manufacturing plant,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30we can see that from the bottles, we can see that from the Smirnoff
0:03:30 > 0:03:32and also the Glen's Vodka as well.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37We have the vats which are full of vodka which is ready to be...
0:03:37 > 0:03:41put into the bottles there. At least 12 vats full of the vodka.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44That's going to make a lot of vodka.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45Boxes ready to go.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50There's absolutely hundreds if not thousands.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52We've got all of them over there.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56All of these at the top, including these cases as well.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58These are all full of the boxes.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Ready to be used to package the bottles up.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05We need to get the items examined, we need to have them sampled
0:04:05 > 0:04:08to see what's in the contents of each of the bottles.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12It could be dangerous, it could be a risk to the health of the community.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Obviously we don't want that getting out into the community,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18cos you never know what could happen.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Every year in eastern Europe, where this gang come from,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24thousands fall ill or die from fake vodka.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29The question for Dave is how much has already been sold?
0:04:29 > 0:04:31It's not just one bottle every five minutes.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33It's eight bottles every ten seconds.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37We don't know where these items have been sold.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39If they've been doing this for several months,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41there may be a whole host of bottles
0:04:41 > 0:04:43out in the shops, pubs and bars of the local area.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Obviously that's a massive health issue and a concern.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Worryingly, most vodka is drunk with mixers,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52covering up for the rough and insanitary way this is made.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55We've got to think about the expectations that people,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58the general honest reasonable person, is going to expect
0:04:58 > 0:05:02when they get vodka, whether it be from a bar, a restaurant or a shop.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05They expect to get an alcoholic beverage.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07They might be getting poisoned.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10There are several leads that we have to chase up - fingerprints,
0:05:10 > 0:05:15DNA perhaps. All of these items will be looked at forensically.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Maybe there'll be hits on that.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20It's such a large enterprise that I'd be surprised
0:05:20 > 0:05:22if there are no leads whatsoever.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25The police were receiving intelligence that there were
0:05:25 > 0:05:29people in and around the Scarborough area coming and going from this unit.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33There was evidence of bottles being left around.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35It's clearly a professional business.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38There's lots and lots and lots of money being made out of this.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Someone is in charge of this.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44That person doesn't know that we've taken this just yet.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46When they do, they're going to be pretty cross.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Customs say fake alcohol plants like this are booming,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55costing the government ?350 million a year in lost tax.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Television.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Television for when they get bored.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Kettle.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Eventually, David's team trace the man renting the premises.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08But he and all the others escaped back to eastern Europe.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11This appears to be the bottling area.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16No-one has yet called asking for their vodka factory back.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Up and down the country, thousands of bottles of seized fake vodka
0:06:27 > 0:06:29stack up in trading standards warehouses.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Many of us have drunk it and never realised.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36But it's left two people dead and many more seriously ill.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38It's a gamble.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40In this particular case, we've got
0:06:40 > 0:06:41over 1,000 bottles of vodka behind me.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44We picked all of those up in one day.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46I was surprised at the amount,
0:06:46 > 0:06:51but also surprised that 14 retailers were prepared to buy this stuff
0:06:51 > 0:06:55out of the back of a white van with no VAT receipt, no nothing.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Then, bless them, they'll come to court and plead
0:06:58 > 0:07:00that in all innocence they had no reason to suspect
0:07:00 > 0:07:01there was anything wrong.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05It beggars belief that they expect the magistrates to believe them.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07This will be it here.
0:07:07 > 0:07:08Customs.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Later we'll pay a visit to the shops that sell this stuff.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14It's unregulated. We don't know what's in it.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16And that's the worry.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19You've seen the lengths that bogus booze merchants will go
0:07:19 > 0:07:23to copy reputable brands, but how can you tell if it's fake?
0:07:23 > 0:07:26They say if it smells of cleaning fluid or nail polish,
0:07:26 > 0:07:27don't drink it.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29But here lies the problem -
0:07:29 > 0:07:32most people who drink vodka mix it with cola or tonic.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Of course, that masks any warning of taste or smell.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42At the Kent Summer Fair, Trading Standards are desperate
0:07:42 > 0:07:44to get the message out to Middle England.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47I don't know if you realise, we're Trading Standards.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49This market stall is full of counterfeit goods.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Come inside and I'll show you some of the things.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Many here often doubt their vodka tonic could be tainted.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57They manage to copy the labels very clearly.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00You would believe that it is actually a genuine product.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02The thing that concerns me as well is the fact that,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06A, it's available, so whilst I might not buy it,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09if I had a party, someone might bring something to the party.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12How many other people has that affected? Absolutely.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Some of the alcohol that we have seized has had ten times
0:08:15 > 0:08:18the methanol content in it, which obviously is very dangerous
0:08:18 > 0:08:20with people with kidney disease or liver disease.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Across to Cardiff now, where officers fear
0:08:28 > 0:08:32thousands of toxic bottles had hit the city shops and bars.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36What they uncovered at this factory was more 1920s Chicago
0:08:36 > 0:08:38than 21st-century Cardiff.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45A complete fake vodka factory.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50This was full-scale production of, you know, illegal alcohol.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54We're talking 4,000-5,000 litre vats of just raw ethanol.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58There were pallets and pallets of these bottles waiting to go out.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02We'd understood we'd had information to suggest that HGV wagons had
0:09:02 > 0:09:06already left the depot, so I just hate to put a figure on
0:09:06 > 0:09:11how many bottles had actually left and been put in circulation.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Scientists discovered they'd faked east European Christoff vodka.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24But this had 120 times the legal amount of methanol -
0:09:24 > 0:09:27tasteless but deadly.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29You can't detect methanol.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33It smells very much like ethanol, but the consequences
0:09:33 > 0:09:38are that it can make you feel dizzy,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41you can have pains in your stomach.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44You can actually then become sick.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47But if you drink a lot of it in the one go
0:09:47 > 0:09:50or over a short period of time,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54then you can actually result in respiratory failure
0:09:54 > 0:09:55and even blindness.
0:09:55 > 0:10:01They're dangerous to the point where a fatality may occur.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04The analysis was plain and simple - this is injurious to health.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07This is going to hurt people, you need to get it off the streets.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10So obviously our efforts were directed in that area.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12What you've done is produce a leaflet for the retailers,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14based on what we found at the factory,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16based on the labelling that we've taken. That's right.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20So what sort of numbers were we finding of these labels?
0:10:20 > 0:10:21Hundreds, thousands.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26With 5,000 bottles labelled and ready to go,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28how many had already hit the streets?
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Amazingly, the fast work of scientists
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and officers in the field meant no-one was injured.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38The gang out to make a fast buck with their dangerous hooch
0:10:38 > 0:10:40were never caught.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42I'd be foolish to think we'd ended the problem.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44We certainly haven't ended the problem
0:10:44 > 0:10:47across the counterfeiting piece, if you like.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Why should this be any different?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Even drinking it neat, you're not going to be able to tell.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55The only way you're going to know is when you fall ill.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59If you ever have any doubt, don't drink it.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Inform Trading Standards, have it tested.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Now, if you think it's just eastern Europeans
0:11:10 > 0:11:13and vodka making up this racket, think again.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Southampton docks. Millions of containers come through here,
0:11:16 > 0:11:21and today Border Agency Officer Phil Dunn is interested in just one.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Yeah, we've got a container that's showing it's beer
0:11:25 > 0:11:28arriving from China. Not renowned as a great producer of lager.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31From an importer who we've had some credibility checks done on
0:11:31 > 0:11:33and we're not happy about.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35We're going to examine the box, see actually what's inside,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38then do further checks on the actual contents themselves.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40So what's in the box?
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Customs seized the equivalent of 9 million pints
0:11:44 > 0:11:45of bogus beer last year.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53But inside are indeed boxes and boxes of beer. But hold on, Corona?
0:11:53 > 0:11:55That's Mexican beer from China?
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Corona beer.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Phil's suspicious too.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00Straight away looking at it,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03the quality of the labels looks quite poor.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05The packaging as well is very flimsy.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Certainly I haven't seen this in UK supermarkets like that.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Certainly not the quality we expect of what is probably
0:12:10 > 0:12:12technically a premium beer.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Certainly not a Mexican beer in from China, either.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17The team begin to unload their haul.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20We're just taking a few more of the boxes out to see
0:12:20 > 0:12:22if the whole container is full of the Corona Extra.
0:12:22 > 0:12:23See if there's anything else in there.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Basically see how many are in there, cos if it is counterfeit,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29we're going to have to tally up to see how much there is.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31We want to see that it is all the way through and it is consistent.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33We haven't had a huge amount of counterfeit beer here.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36But anything that can be copied will be copied.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40It soon becomes clear the whole container is packed to the brim
0:12:40 > 0:12:42with a hooky Mexican lager.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Goes all the way to the back of the container,
0:12:45 > 0:12:46so it's uniform all the way back.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48While the rest of the team tally up,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Phil wants to make some comparisons of his own,
0:12:51 > 0:12:56so he heads to a major high street retailer to buy the legitimate item.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Doesn't look good, me on duty.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01This is a normal four-pack of Corona Extra beer.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05We'll have a look at this
0:13:05 > 0:13:08and compare it to what we find within the container.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Back at the port, and Phil compares what he's bought
0:13:12 > 0:13:13with what he's seized.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17You see the quality is much better in the packaging.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Then we look at the bottles themselves -
0:13:19 > 0:13:23they're all at a consistent level compared to these bottles.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25The labelling is different.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Also, a lot of the bottles now are carrying this about units,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31how many units, alcoholic units.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34This looks like it's been done in the factory and properly done.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36This one here, we suspect this could be counterfeit Corona.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Phil's concern about the beer isn't just about the way it looks.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Main problem with something like this is towards the public health.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45We don't know what's inside these bottles.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48People are drinking something where they're not getting
0:13:48 > 0:13:50the product they're expecting.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Back outside and the team are finishing their unloading
0:13:54 > 0:13:57and the full scale of their haul becomes clear.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00There's 28,800 bottles within this container.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03For sales value, that's about ?30,000-35,000 worth.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06This will get handed over to our team who will take this further.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08They'll have contact with the rights holders.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Further checks will be made to see if this is counterfeit or genuine beer.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14And since we filmed,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17the border agency at Southampton have discovered that the beer
0:14:17 > 0:14:21definitely is fake Corona, but the bottles themselves are real.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26The fakers just recycled old bottles with their own cheap lager.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38Dangerous vodka, knock-off beer. Is nothing sacred any more?
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Not in Fake Britain.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Today in Bromley, Kent, officer Rob Vale is following up reports
0:14:44 > 0:14:47that fake champagne is being sold on his patch.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49If members of the public don't spot that it's a fake,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53then they're going to be paying top dollar for what is basically
0:14:53 > 0:14:57a ?3 to ?4 bottle of very low alcohol wine.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Intelligence suggests that a man in a white van has sold
0:15:02 > 0:15:05various bottles of the bogus bubbly to small shops in the area.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09I'm from Trading Standards.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13We had an incident of fake Bollinger being sold in the area recently,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17so I'm just looking at a few shops in the area to check the stock.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Do you have any Bollinger on your shelves?
0:15:20 > 0:15:23The storekeeper has one bottle of Bollinger left.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Where do you get your stock from? BLEEP
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Same place all the time?
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Yeah, OK.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34How long have you had this? It's been there long. Long time.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36How many have you got?
0:15:36 > 0:15:37That's the only one left.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Yeah? I don't buy too many, nobody buy them.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41Cos that's actually a fake bottle.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43This one? Yeah. Is it?
0:15:43 > 0:15:46If you look at the label, you'll see that it's a very smooth finish.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Yeah, but they keep changing them.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54Yeah, but this...this is a laser copy, so... I don't really know...
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Do you remember where you got it from? Yeah... BLEEP.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01As the bottle is a fake, Rob is suspicious that it could have come
0:16:01 > 0:16:05from the white van man who has been selling counterfeits in this area.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06So he's going to seize it.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09You are taking my property from me without paying me,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11it don't make sense.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Well, I am seizing it because it's a fake item.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18It's illegal... It's illegal for you to have it on your shelf.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20You came in here and you found only one thing
0:16:20 > 0:16:21and you're telling me about it.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24If I know it's illegal, I won't leave it there.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28I know, I'm not saying you've done this on purpose.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30How much are you selling it for?
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Bollinger is ?34. You have to change it.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36No, I'm not... I'm not letting you have the bottle.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38I've got to take the bottle. But if you tell me...
0:16:38 > 0:16:43Go and get your records, who you bought it from and I'll ring them.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I told you, it's a long time ago.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50The shopkeeper's not happy to lose stock,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53but Rob is definitely sending this bottle for analysis.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Thank you for your cooperation, it makes it a lot easier.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01There is no suggestion the shopkeeper had any idea it was a fake.
0:17:01 > 0:17:07The main indicator is this very cheap-looking label.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09This bottle was sent back to the manufacturer,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11who confirmed it was counterfeit.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Getting it off the shelves will have saved one shopper from wasting ?30.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19But across the country, fake champagne is big business.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Remember that fake vodka truck
0:17:29 > 0:17:33and the investigator's shock at what it was capable of producing?
0:17:33 > 0:17:35It's not just one bottle every five minutes,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38it's eight bottles every ten seconds.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42The eastern Europeans that ran this are still on the run,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46but it was a British gang that ran the biggest racket uncovered so far.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Outside court in London, their run is about to come to an end.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Jeff Hall and Steve Davis are part of a network that churned out
0:17:59 > 0:18:01fake vodka for over a year in the middle of London.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09More than 1.3 million bottles were sold and never recovered.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15The public would have had no way of knowing
0:18:15 > 0:18:18when they bought that vodka that it was fake.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21The packaging was to such good quality
0:18:21 > 0:18:23that anybody would have bought that
0:18:23 > 0:18:25and not realised they were buying counterfeit vodka.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32Polish workers were housed above the machinery to run the 24/7 operation.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Things were going so well, this video shows them
0:18:37 > 0:18:41taking delivery of machinery for a new sideline - counterfeit tobacco.
0:18:45 > 0:18:46Costing over ?100,000,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50the plan was for this machine to churn out 100 pouches a minute.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55They had nine tonnes ready for the market,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58but behind this video camera was a customs officer.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03As soon as we found out about the alcohol factory, we closed it down.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06But that led on to a long-term surveillance operation
0:19:06 > 0:19:10against some of the main targets that we identified,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and that directly led to us identifying the tobacco factory.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16That enabled us to close it down before they were able to sell
0:19:16 > 0:19:18any of their product.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21The amount of money these people could make was enormous.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24We estimate that in just one year,
0:19:24 > 0:19:29they sold vodka which cost the taxpayer ?18 million.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35It's a huge sum that would have gone towards health, education, etc.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39A last breath of freedom as these guys await sentencing,
0:19:39 > 0:19:41but where's all the fake stuff being sold?
0:19:44 > 0:19:45Hello? Customs.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49In Liverpool, customs officers are gobsmacked by the shops
0:19:49 > 0:19:52who think they can get away with selling fake booze and fags.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55There's a fair amount of stock in here, isn't there?
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Yeah, there's more in here as well.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Got a dozen bottles of Smirnoff here.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05There's more just about everywhere. They even sleep with it.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08There are telltale signs with regard to tag stamps.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11For example, this one in particular.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13The legitimate duty tax stamp peels off,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16which indicates it's an non-legitimate product.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19So therefore it gives us the right to seize it.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21There's whisky or vodka.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Officers are acting on a tip-off from rival stores
0:20:27 > 0:20:30being undercut by this place's fake fags and booze.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32Oh, here we go.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35These are non-legitimate.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40They're not legitimate UK-manufactured cigarettes.
0:20:40 > 0:20:4310,000. So we've got 20,000 cigarettes so far.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Turns out there's more to this shop than its sign claims.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51I would estimate there's about 100 cases of vodka, 100 cases of whisky.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55It's completely disproportionate to the size of this little corner shop.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01It just isn't credible for the amount of business that he'll do.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05The gentleman's just said that he's selling it for about ?11.99,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07which is a counterfeit product.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12Shamelessly, this shop charges almost full price for fakes.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16That allows them to pocket an extra ?8.50 on every single bottle
0:21:16 > 0:21:19because they've paid no duty.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22It's unregulated. We don't know what's in it.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26This will be seized and taken to a warehouse. It will be destroyed.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Ordinary people are getting fed up with criminals trying to undercut
0:21:30 > 0:21:34legitimate trade and trying to fiddle the taxpayer, at the end of the day.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Back in London, it's the end of a long run for the gang
0:21:39 > 0:21:42that's churned out over a million bottles of fake vodka.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44They're about to get some rest.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Both are sentenced to ten years behind bars.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58So does all fake booze come from dodgy white vans and corner shops?
0:21:58 > 0:21:59Think again.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04Believe it or not, this is a bottle of fake wine and it was
0:22:04 > 0:22:08purchased from a major supermarket in an ordinary high street.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Clacton-on-Sea on the windy coast of Essex.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16With its pier and beach, it was once
0:22:16 > 0:22:20a top holiday destination for tens of thousands.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23It's perhaps the last place you would think of for fake wine.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33David McGowan likes his wine and knows a bit about it.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35He went into his local Tesco in Clacton
0:22:35 > 0:22:37and bought a couple of bottles
0:22:37 > 0:22:38of the classy French wine Pouilly-Fuisse.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44But when he got it home and drank it, he was in for a surprise.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47I opened it up expecting it to be a dry French wine.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I'm no expert,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53but I can tell a decent French dry wine to a cheap and sweet wine.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Daniel was convinced that what was on the label
0:22:57 > 0:22:59was not the wine in the bottle.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Purchasing it from Tescos, couldn't have thought that anything...
0:23:02 > 0:23:05a counterfeit wine could have been sold.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Next day he took the bottles back to the supermarket to complain.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11He was offered a refund.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15I declined and I just really asked for someone from Tescos
0:23:15 > 0:23:18to speak to me, cos I felt that that wasn't right.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Tescos really shouldn't be, you know...
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Someone needed to explain the reasons why there was...
0:23:24 > 0:23:28what was in the bottle wasn't what it was actually supposed to be.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31I received a letter from Tescos saying that it was going to be...
0:23:31 > 0:23:33or it was nothing to do with them
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and it was in the hands of their wine distribution company.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40I've had a conversation with the wine distribution company,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42who reimbursed me with two bottles
0:23:42 > 0:23:47of the actual wine that it should have been and a bottle of champagne.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51But apart from that, there has been nothing more from Tescos
0:23:51 > 0:23:54on this matter or anything else.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Tesco point out that this is the only time
0:23:56 > 0:23:59that this has ever happened in one of their stores.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03But two questions remain - just what was in the bottle
0:24:03 > 0:24:05and how did it get there?
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Daniel's brought it along to a top wine expert in London
0:24:08 > 0:24:10for some answers.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13This label, it's the wrong texture. The label is just cheap and nasty.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18It should be a lot better than that. Well... It looks pure filth.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Let's see what it tastes like.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22Have a try.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25You see it smells completely different.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28A - there's hardly nay nose on that.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Mm. Mmm!
0:24:33 > 0:24:37It's sweet. It's probably German and it's probably not very good German.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41So it's German, cheap and definitely not Pouilly-Fuisse.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44But how did it get on Tesco's shelves?
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Tom thinks the distributors were conned by the fakers.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50It's the most common fraud around at the moment.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52People buy a batch of really cheap wine,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56get some labels printed off, stick it on, then just try and sneak it
0:24:56 > 0:25:01into the supply chain of a big company, like they've tried here.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Having said that,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06again the people that bought it probably didn't taste this wine.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09The way it normally works, from what I can work out,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12is that if you place an...if you ask for samples of wine,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16you get the genuine article, but the fake stuff then gets
0:25:16 > 0:25:20slipped into the supply chain and hopefully gets lost in there.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22So it's really hard to trace it back.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24For Daniel, it's a relief to have the experts agree
0:25:24 > 0:25:27that his suspicions were correct.
0:25:27 > 0:25:32The reason why I wrote in and went to see Tescos, it's proved it's true.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Tesco believe that only nine bottles of the fake wine
0:25:35 > 0:25:39were ever in their stores, but Tom thinks there's a reason why
0:25:39 > 0:25:41we don't hear more about wine frauds.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44An awful lot of times, I think people just taste it,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46"I don't like that wine. Throw it away."
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Even if it's at the top end, they very rarely think
0:25:49 > 0:25:52they've been defrauded, they just think they don't like the wine.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02A final visit now to those hunting down that bogus Bolly.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07Cheap plonk, even fruit juice bagged up as 35-quid-a-bottle champers.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Trading Standards in Wandsworth, south-west London,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14have saved local drinkers hundreds by seizing the fakes.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17We've seized bottles of counterfeit Bollinger
0:26:17 > 0:26:21that we found in various off-licences in the borough.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25We've submitted them to the agents acting for Bollinger,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27and they've identified them as cheap sparkling wine.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34These would have been sold at or very close to the correct price
0:26:34 > 0:26:36of what you'd expect to pay.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41I think the small bottles were ?35 and the bigger bottles,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44the big one-and-a-half litre bottles, were ?80.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48There's no question that these were being passed off as the real thing.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51If you bought a few bottles of this stuff,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53you'd be seriously out of pocket.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56But there are a few pointers on what to watch out for.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58This is a genuine one.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01As you can see, the price that this was sold for, ?34.99,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06which is about the same price as the counterfeit ones we seized.
0:27:06 > 0:27:12If you compare the genuine one here to the counterfeit one,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15if you look very closely, you can actually see the difference.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19The labels at the top here, the Bollinger is embossed,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22slightly embossed on the genuine one,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24as is the red label.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Bollinger's embossed on there, where it's all flat.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29I suspect the average purchaser wouldn't notice.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35It's another destruction day for Trading Standards.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40Name your drink - all straight down the drain.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43But as we've seen, when it comes to fake booze, you're lucky
0:27:43 > 0:27:45if it's only your taste buds and pockets taking the hit.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Elsewhere, a much higher cost is being counted
0:27:52 > 0:27:55and we are all the target.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01So it seems if you can drink it, they can fake it.
0:28:01 > 0:28:02One thing's for certain -
0:28:02 > 0:28:05the fight against bogus booze has become deadly serious.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd