0:00:03 > 0:00:07Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12- Police!- Police officers! Stay where you are!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24You're under arrest.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29In this series, I'll investigate the world of the criminals
0:00:29 > 0:00:32who make their money at your expense.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36I'll be showing you how not to get ripped off. Coming up,
0:00:36 > 0:00:41a wake-up call for those trading fakes online from the comfort of home.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Police!
0:00:44 > 0:00:47- Move back. - Move back now! Move back!
0:00:47 > 0:00:51On the back of a lorry, the fake vodka factory on the A64.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55This is crazy. It's eight bottles every ten seconds.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58And dud suds that would give you a rash.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02A private eye tracks them from China to Chester.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06I'm a consumer and that leaves the consumer with no chance whatsoever.
0:01:11 > 0:01:17Here at Fake Britain, we are always shocked at the fakes that threaten our safety in our very own home,
0:01:17 > 0:01:23but those very same criminals that make those fakes are also affecting jobs of people here in the UK.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26We are world leaders in fashion,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30but Cool Britannia is being undercut by Copycat China!
0:01:33 > 0:01:3930 years ago, designer label Karen Millen started off with £100 and a lot of hope.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Today, they have over 100 stores worldwide,
0:01:42 > 0:01:47employing thousands of people - a British success story.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53The problem is, within days of putting a design on a catwalk, fakes are run up and put online.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Dawn in Birmingham - too early for fashionistas,
0:02:00 > 0:02:05but 24 officers are preparing to raid an ordinary-looking home that keeps up with fashion
0:02:05 > 0:02:09by shipping in lots of parcels from Chinese sweat shops.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13We've traced a couple of people importing counterfeit goods
0:02:13 > 0:02:16from China in the designer brand of Karen Millen.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22It's a family operation. We've done some test purchases which have confirmed the dress as counterfeit.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27It's a very poor quality of what the real Karen Millen garment would be.
0:02:27 > 0:02:33Karen Millen employs a considerable amount of people and there's the risk and loss of their jobs.
0:02:33 > 0:02:39We all know what the current climate is like. It's a loss to Karen Millen of £250,000 in the last 90 days,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41so it is quite substantial.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45- Open the door!- Someone's in, but they're not opening.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49If you don't open the door, the door is going to get forced.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53- Are they being forthcoming?- Yeah, he's coming down by the look of it.
0:02:53 > 0:02:59They're given 20 seconds. Any longer and they could be destroying vital computer evidence.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Time's up.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Police!
0:03:08 > 0:03:12- Move back.- Move the dogs back. - Move back now. Move back!
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Dogs barking! Move back!
0:03:15 > 0:03:16Move back.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20This is a bad day to be a house-sitter.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25- They're in Spain?- Yeah. - How did they go to Spain...? - They should be back today.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30After all this, a bewildered house-sitter says the suspects are in Spain,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32but that doesn't stop the search.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41OK, so we've got more dresses from Karen Millen.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45This looks pretty much like a bridal type outfit,
0:03:45 > 0:03:51all tagged up with the Karen Millen garments, so very desirable for wedding type events.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56These fakes are being sold at close to the price of the genuine article.
0:03:56 > 0:04:02They're selling these items between £60 and £90, so people are still having to pay a lot of money
0:04:02 > 0:04:06for what they think to be genuine garments when they're getting fakes.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09That's Karen Millen leather boots.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13We have found approximately 300 to 400 dresses that we know of.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17The officers are still looking through more up there.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23A few years ago, crooks had to brave markets and pubs to flog fakes. Not any more.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28The internet makes it easy to set up in a nice residential property trading from home.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Nobody would know the difference.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34No-one knows what's going on inside a premises.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39They're running their own business from a laptop and the items are bought and just shipped.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44It's a busy little house. The postal records show business is booming.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48There's been hundreds and hundreds of people purchasing from them
0:04:48 > 0:04:51and these individuals have made a lot of money.
0:04:51 > 0:04:57We're aware that they're buying property in Spain, but we'll have ongoing inquiries with that.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01The courts may seize the money going on that place in the sun.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Things just got worse for the house-sitter.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08He's now under arrest for a sneaky text to the couple in Spain.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12They've notified them in Spain
0:05:12 > 0:05:17and they then sent a message back to the UK to the young lad to remove items out of their house.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Unfortunately, someone's already doing that.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24This is a package that's just arrived from China.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27And collecting the post.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31The bottom line with the internet is that nobody can see you.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35At the same time, nobody knows that we're watching the criminals.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41With all this evidence, these traders may end up somewhere rather different to their place in the sun.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55In rolling fields just outside Scarborough, police get a tip-off
0:05:55 > 0:06:00about a group of Eastern European men acting suspiciously.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Surveillance confirms their concerns, but when officers return with a warrant,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08the lock-up is deserted and empty.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10What were they up to?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Curiously, a massive truck is parked up nearby
0:06:15 > 0:06:20and investigators are not prepared for what's inside.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Where do I start?
0:06:29 > 0:06:32This is crazy.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38The East Europeans have loaded their entire fake vodka factory into a getaway truck.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46We've clearly got a vodka manufacturing plant.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51We can see that from the bottles, from the Smirnoff and the Glen's Vodka as well.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56We have the vats which are full of vodka which is ready to be put into the bottles there.
0:06:56 > 0:07:02At least 12 vats full of the vodka. That's going to make a lot of vodka.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Boxes ready to go.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08There's absolutely hundreds, if not thousands.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13So we've got all of them over there, all of these at the top, including these cases as well.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17These are all full of the boxes ready to be used
0:07:17 > 0:07:20to package the bottles up.
0:07:20 > 0:07:26We need to get the items examined, to have them sampled to see what is in the contents of each bottle.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31It could be dangerous. It could be a risk to the health of the community.
0:07:31 > 0:07:37We don't want that getting out into the community cos you never know what could happen.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42Every year in Eastern Europe where this gang come from, thousands fall ill or die from fake vodka.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47The question for Dave is how much has already been sold.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52It's not just one bottle every five minutes. It's eight bottles every ten seconds.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58We don't know where these items have been sold, if they've been doing this for several months.
0:07:58 > 0:08:04There may be a host of bottles in the shops, pubs and bars of the local area. That's a massive health issue.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Worryingly, most vodka is drunk with mixers,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11covering up for the rough and unsanitary way this is made.
0:08:11 > 0:08:17It's clearly a professional business. There is lots and lots and lots of money being made out of this.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23And someone is in charge of this. That person doesn't know that we've taken this just yet.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26And when they do, they're going to be pretty cross.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31Customs say fake alcohol plants like this are booming,
0:08:31 > 0:08:36costing the government £350 million a year in lost tax.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40A television. A television for when they get bored. A kettle.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45Eventually, David's team trace the man renting the premises,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48but he and all the others escaped back to Eastern Europe.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52This appears to be the bottling area.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55No-one has yet called, asking for their vodka factory back.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59- This'll be it here.- Yeah.- Customs!
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Later, we'll visit the shops willing to sell this stuff.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05We don't know what's in it.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16A large box of washing powder like this can cost over £10,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20so it's no surprise that criminals tried to clean up
0:09:20 > 0:09:24by churning out thousands of fake boxes of this well-known brand.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30Their only problem was that undercover detectives were following them from China to Chester.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Richard Brayford and his gang are totally unaware
0:09:34 > 0:09:38a private detective is taking this footage of them.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41They reckon they passed the brilliance test,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45shipping 25 tonnes of nasty washing powder all the way from China.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49They planned to put it into fake boxes of a top brand,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52but Persil's detectives were on to the dud suds.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56The investigation had been going on for some time.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00It's a unique set of circumstances to be sat at your desk,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03receiving a telephone call from the legal team at Unilever,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07advising us that they've got a team of investigators
0:10:07 > 0:10:11tracking washing powder from China to Winsford in Cheshire.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14A very, very bizarre situation.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Having landed in Britain, the undercover detectives manage
0:10:19 > 0:10:24to keep track of the consignment as it heads off on the back of a lorry.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29All they could do was follow. For a raid, they would need Trading Standards.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35It was vital that they let it unfold. They had very good intelligence.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40They knew that the powder was coming into the country separately from the packaging.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44It was important to wait until it was married up with the packaging.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50Once that white powder goes into the packaging, there are offences. It's passed off as Persil washing powder.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54With boxes and powder now together in one warehouse,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56it was time for the raid.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02It was bizarre going through the door. It was a huge warehouse. In one corner, a mountain of sacks.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06A bit further along, an area where the boxes were being built.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Further on again where the boxes were being filled
0:11:09 > 0:11:13and finally, in one corner, pallet loads all ready to go.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17You can see for yourself it's incredibly difficult.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Here is the counterfeit packaging. Here is the real thing.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26Could you tell the difference between those two on the supermarket shelf? I'd certainly struggle.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30The other key item was the difference in the handles.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35There's a very small gap in the handle where the rivet's put in on the real thing.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40On the fake, it's much larger, but they are incredibly minor differences.
0:11:40 > 0:11:46I'm a consumer and I would say that leaves the consumer with no chance whatsoever.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51The powder was tested and that told us it was virtually useless as a washing agent.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55As is normal, the money gets spent on the eye-catching packaging.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57The powder was of a very low quality.
0:11:57 > 0:12:03Insufficient money was spent on the detergent and lower quality materials were used
0:12:03 > 0:12:06which could damage washing machines and be a skin irritant.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10The Persil plot had been foiled.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15In court, Richard Brayford was all washed up and jailed for two years.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Three others also went to prison.
0:12:18 > 0:12:24Thanks to those whiter-than-white private eyes, not a single fake packet ever reached our shelves.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28It's the sort of evidence you dream of having.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31For a private investigator to turn up on your doorstep
0:12:31 > 0:12:36and show you video footage of the consignment arriving, it was first-class.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Still to come on Fake Britain,
0:12:39 > 0:12:44how to stop an Asian gang's plot to peddle dangerous fake medicines in Britain.
0:12:44 > 0:12:50We've seen counterfeit medicine for prostate cancer, for schizophrenia, for heart conditions.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54How 40% of all the eggs we buy are not what they claim to be.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57It's con men at the chicken run.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01It's our job to sniff these people out and to prosecute them.
0:13:01 > 0:13:07And one upset customer putts a £3 million fake golf club syndicate into jail.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Satisfaction that they're behind bars.
0:13:16 > 0:13:22This investigator deals with fakes that kill over 200,000 people a year.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26His job is to stop them entering Britain.
0:13:27 > 0:13:33In parts of Asia, up to half the pills for many life-threatening illnesses are now counterfeit.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40The consequences are deadly and don't think it couldn't happen to you.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46A secretly located basement in central London shows
0:13:46 > 0:13:50how the criminals are now breaking into the British market.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Nimo Ahmed is head of intelligence
0:13:52 > 0:13:57at the organisation charged with stopping the deadly fakes bound for Britain.
0:13:57 > 0:14:03This is Casodex, a cancer medicine to treat prostate cancer, and we found 10,000 fake packs.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08We have found fake statins for people at high risk of heart attack.
0:14:08 > 0:14:14This is a very serious medicine that treats schizophrenia and we found 20,000 fake packs.
0:14:14 > 0:14:20We found 35,000 packs of this medicine which is to treat patients after heart surgery.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Ten dangerous batches of fake medicine have now broken through
0:14:24 > 0:14:27into the NHS prescription system,
0:14:27 > 0:14:33but most in this packed storeroom have been seized from rogue online websites.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37In their naivety, they go on the internet and think,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41"That's the medication I take. I can save all the hassle.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43"I'll purchase it off the internet."
0:14:43 > 0:14:49The front page shows someone with a stethoscope to appear legitimate, as if a doctor's behind the dispensing.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54But that's not the case. As you've seen from the raids we've been on,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57they could be in the back of a car garage, in someone's kitchen,
0:14:57 > 0:15:02they could be mixed up with all sorts of other unhygienic conditions.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Because we trust our medicine in Britain, the worry is fakes could kill someone
0:15:07 > 0:15:09and never be linked to the cause of death.
0:15:09 > 0:15:15We don't know of any cases in the UK where somebody has died or become seriously ill from fake medicine.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19That's not to say it hasn't happened, but it's very difficult to diagnose.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25A British death is the last thing this team want confirmed.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29It's dawn and a fake medicine website is about to get a rude awakening.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34So we're heading out to visit a number of addresses across the borough
0:15:34 > 0:15:39which we've got reason to believe are linked to a Pakistani organised gang
0:15:39 > 0:15:43who are supplying counterfeit medicines into the UK.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47We'll rejoin the team when they are ready for that early morning knock.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Police, let us in!
0:15:58 > 0:16:05London, like most other great global destinations, is being hit by a worldwide con.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Holiday accommodation we book and pay for on the internet turns out to be fake.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13As Nigerians, we get a lot of flak for a lot of the fraud
0:16:13 > 0:16:16that's committed by Nigerians in various places
0:16:16 > 0:16:21and it's ironic that my mum from Nigeria was defrauded out of a place in London.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Ezeibe's mother was coming from Africa to visit her new grandchild.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32Like thousands of others, the family were conned by rogue websites renting fake accommodation.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Whether for London or Lanzarote,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41crooks pinch estate agent photos and offer properties they don't own.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45On arrival, you discover it's somebody else's home.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50To be honest, I thought, "How could it have happened to me of all people?"
0:16:50 > 0:16:56You know, because I'm always on the internet and I consider myself to be quite savvy.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00It is frightening, to be perfectly honest.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04There is no means of us predicting how this is going to develop.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10Almost helpless, Trading Standards watch these rogues as they change their web address every few weeks.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14The previous site's victims are left to arrive, luggage in tow,
0:17:14 > 0:17:20but the bank account they paid that £1,000 deposit into has also shut.
0:17:21 > 0:17:28This innocent home owner has had over 30 victims arrive at his door because con men hijack his address.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30We had another case this weekend
0:17:30 > 0:17:36of somebody who came and, unfortunately, had given money to this internet rental agency.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42They said they were sorry to inform me that they had several situations like this
0:17:42 > 0:17:46and people had turned up at the apartment with no official booking
0:17:46 > 0:17:49and that I should get in touch with the police.
0:17:49 > 0:17:56This is cruel. These people from wherever in the world are coming to stay in London for a short time.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01Their first experience is finding they've been had. They've got nowhere they can safely stay.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06Some of them won't have the money to find alternative accommodation.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11With the Olympics coming up, con men around the world are targeting London.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16With the Olympics, people are probably thinking about their accommodation now,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20so they may be paying months, maybe years in advance for accommodation
0:18:20 > 0:18:26and they will not know anything is untoward until they turn up at that property and it doesn't exist.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31So what's it like telling new arrivals they've nowhere to stay?
0:18:31 > 0:18:37I say, "I'm really sorry, but this is fake, this is a con.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41"I have a police number."
0:18:41 > 0:18:47At that point, their faces have fallen and it's confirmed what they were thinking by that time anyway.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51- Any information you've got is gratefully received.- Yes.- Thank you.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56We were very worried about people getting angry or aggressive with us.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00What's frightening is there is so little the authorities can do.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Unfortunately, we've got no powers to shut these websites down.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08We can ask the service providers to do so, but it depends in which country.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Some co-operate with authorities better than others.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17If their websites are shut down, they open up new ones, so we're always chasing them.
0:19:17 > 0:19:23It looked totally professional. Nothing on that site made you think anything was wrong.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29Later, Ezeibe discovers the website that robbed him is still in business.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33That is the site. Someone needs to stop these people.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38And how the criminals fool us - 15 minutes to build a fake website.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42I haven't had to spend a penny to start conning people
0:19:42 > 0:19:46out of their money and I can do it all from the comfort of my computer.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56How do you like your eggs? The reason I ask is, say hello to Gertrude.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58She is a free-range chicken
0:19:58 > 0:20:02which means she has a minimum of one square metre to run around in.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08Lucky old Gertrude because her neighbours down there are battery hens.
0:20:08 > 0:20:14They're not real ones, but they have a space smaller than an A4 sheet of paper size to run around in.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19On top of that, they normally cram four or five of them into a cage that size.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24It makes a big difference on the price of eggs. Gertrude's are about £1.60 a box.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Theirs are about 65 pence.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31So you've guessed it - crooks are making money out of chickens' eggs.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35How does it make you feel, eh? Are you annoyed?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Yeah, me too.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Welcome to the chicken run.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46If you're one of these birds, the biggest moment of your life comes when it's decided
0:20:46 > 0:20:51if you'll go to a free-range farm with plenty of space like this
0:20:51 > 0:20:53or somewhere very different.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59This is a battery cage farm.
0:20:59 > 0:21:06Here, for the rest of their lives, each bird produces eggs in crowded, tightly controlled cages.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11About half of us are happy to buy the cheaper eggs produced like this,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14but con men have been re-labelling them as free-range,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18making themselves a lot more than chicken feed.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Profit, hard and fast.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23If you buy a free-range egg,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25£3 a dozen.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29A cage egg would cost you half that and it's that extra profit
0:21:29 > 0:21:33which drives the criminal element of the industry.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37And it's our job to sniff these people out and to prosecute them.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41The egg industry is under constant attack from fraudsters,
0:21:41 > 0:21:48but recently, Alistair and his team of investigators exposed a massive £3 million fraud.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Keith Owen re-packaged battery eggs from places like this
0:21:52 > 0:21:58and conned top supermarkets into thinking they came from open green fields.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03They were found out when Alistair's team made a random visit to a warehouse,
0:22:03 > 0:22:05using some CSI-style technology.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Chickens can't talk.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12But their eggs can tell a tale.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17What we have here is a batch of eggs which I have selected at random
0:22:17 > 0:22:20from the packing centre.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Can we have the lights out, please? Thank you.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26And we use this ultraviolet light
0:22:26 > 0:22:31to detect the marks which are left on the eggs, depending on...
0:22:31 > 0:22:38The marks depend on the type of cage and the type of production unit which the eggs have been produced in.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43When an egg is laid,
0:22:43 > 0:22:45the shell is wet.
0:22:45 > 0:22:52And the surface that the egg lands on will leave an impression on the shell of the egg.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01This line here is a typical mark which is left by an egg
0:23:01 > 0:23:03which is laid in a cage environment,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07as opposed to the free-range or barn system.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14With that evidence, someone else was going to be living behind bars.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20Inspectors had unravelled the biggest ever bogus food scam in Britain.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25The firm re-labelled 108 million eggs.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Keith Owen was jailed for three years.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34Today's inspection at this farm shows all is well, but the owner is angry
0:23:34 > 0:23:39that several honest farmers couldn't compete with the con men and went out of business.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43It was a wake-up call. The industry possibly could have been naive
0:23:43 > 0:23:48to think most people are honest and trustworthy in every walk of life,
0:23:48 > 0:23:53but it did shock everybody that someone would have the pure brass and greed...
0:23:53 > 0:23:58It's no different from rogue traders in the city who just get greedy, I assume.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02If people are prepared to pay extra for free-range or organic,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06it is their right to actually be buying what it says on the tin.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10And it's our job to ensure that actually happens.
0:24:15 > 0:24:21John, £3 million to be made out of eggs is a lot of money. Tell me about that survey you've just done.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26Last year, we purchased 50 different dozens of eggs
0:24:26 > 0:24:29from various retailers across Derbyshire,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33from your small retail shop up to your big multinational retailer.
0:24:33 > 0:24:39There was a problem with 40% of those eggs. That ranged from the eggs being falsely described,
0:24:39 > 0:24:44i.e, they were battery eggs described as free-range or Class A eggs that were Class B...
0:24:44 > 0:24:49A good proportion were labelled incorrectly and we brought people to task over it.
0:24:49 > 0:24:5240% is almost one in every two eggs,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55so in a supermarket, how do I know if that's free-range and that isn't?
0:24:55 > 0:25:00- Is there any way of telling? - No, you just have to rely on what you're told.
0:25:00 > 0:25:06That's the beauty of this for a fraudster. There is no way a consumer or genuine business can tell.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09This number allows that egg to be traced back to source.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15If that number has been put on fraudulently and there is an outbreak of salmonella, it will be impossible
0:25:15 > 0:25:19for an authority like ourselves to trace that back to source.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23You're from Derbyshire. Surely this is throughout the whole country?
0:25:23 > 0:25:27We've travelled all over the country investigating those offences,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31so I've got no doubt whatsoever it is happening in every county.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Police! Let us in!
0:25:39 > 0:25:45Coming up, in London and Pakistan, investigators move in on a fake medicine syndicate.
0:25:45 > 0:25:51This is one significant element of an international organised network to supply counterfeit medicines.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55And how one woman's determination not to get ripped off
0:25:55 > 0:25:59brought down a multi-million-pound counterfeit empire.
0:25:59 > 0:26:06I got home and said to Chrissie, "You'll never guess what!" "What?" "The clubs I bought are fakes."
0:26:14 > 0:26:20Remember that fake vodka truck and the investigator's shock at what it was capable of producing?
0:26:20 > 0:26:25It's not just one bottle every five minutes. It's eight bottles every ten seconds.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29The gang that ran all this is still on the run.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34But what's frightening is just how long some operations stay in business.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40Outside court in London, another gang's run is about to come to an end.
0:26:41 > 0:26:47Geoff Hall and Steve Davis are part of a network that secretly ran yet another fake vodka factory
0:26:47 > 0:26:50in the middle of London for over a year.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Over 1.3 million bottles were sold and never recovered.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02The public would have no way of knowing
0:27:02 > 0:27:05when they bought that vodka that it was fake.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09The packaging was to such good quality
0:27:09 > 0:27:13that anybody who bought that would not realise it was counterfeit vodka.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Polish workers were housed above the machinery
0:27:18 > 0:27:20to run the 24/7 operation.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Things were going so well, they took delivery
0:27:26 > 0:27:29of machinery for a new sideline - counterfeit tobacco.
0:27:32 > 0:27:38Costing over £100,000, the plan was for this machine to churn out 100 pouches a minute.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43They had nine tonnes ready for the market,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46but behind this video camera was a customs officer.
0:27:47 > 0:27:53As soon as we found out about the alcohol factory, we closed it down, but that led on
0:27:53 > 0:27:57to a long-term surveillance operation against some of the main targets
0:27:57 > 0:28:01that we identified and that led to us identifying the tobacco factory,
0:28:01 > 0:28:06enabling us to close it down before they were able to sell their product.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09The money these people could make was enormous.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13We estimate that in just one year they sold vodka...
0:28:14 > 0:28:17..which cost the taxpayer £18 million.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22It's a huge sum that would have gone towards health, education, etcetera.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26A last breath of freedom as these guys await sentencing,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30but where is all the fake stuff being sold?
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Hello! Customs.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36In Liverpool, customs officers are gobsmacked by the shops
0:28:36 > 0:28:40who think they can get away with selling fake booze and fags.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44There's a fair amount of stock in here. There's more in here as well.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47We've got a dozen bottles of Smirnoff here.
0:28:47 > 0:28:53There is more just about everywhere. They even sleep with it.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56There are tell-tale signs with regard to tax stamps.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01For example, this one, in particular, the duty tax stamp peels off
0:29:01 > 0:29:04which indicates it's a non-legitimate product,
0:29:04 > 0:29:06giving us the right to seize it.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09There's whisky or vodka.
0:29:11 > 0:29:18Officers are acting on a tip-off from rival stores being undercut by this place's fake fags and booze.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Oh, here we go.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23- These are non-legitimate...- Polish.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27They're not legitimate UK manufactured cigarettes.
0:29:27 > 0:29:3110,000, so we've got 20,000 cigarettes so far.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34There's more to this shop than its sign claims.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38I would estimate there's about 100 cases of vodka, 100 cases of whisky.
0:29:38 > 0:29:43It's completely disproportionate to the size of this little corner shop.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48It just isn't credible for the amount of business that he'll do.
0:29:48 > 0:29:54The gentleman's just said he's selling it for about £11.99 which is a counterfeit product.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59Shamelessly, this shop charges almost full price for fakes.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04That allows them to pocket an extra £8.50 on every single bottle
0:30:04 > 0:30:07because they've paid no duty.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10It's unregulated. We don't know what's in it.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14This will be seized and taken to a warehouse and it will be destroyed.
0:30:14 > 0:30:20Ordinary people are getting fed up with criminals trying to undercut legitimate trade
0:30:20 > 0:30:22and trying to fiddle the taxpayer.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26Back in London, it's the end of a long run for the gang
0:30:26 > 0:30:30that's churned out over a million bottles of fake vodka.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35They're about to get some rest. Both are sentenced to ten years behind bars.
0:30:41 > 0:30:47Back in West London, Nimo and his fake medicines team are about to raid a house
0:30:47 > 0:30:52trading dodgy, dangerous fakes to innocent online buyers.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57So we've got officers on six addresses across the borough
0:30:57 > 0:31:00and we're about to visit one of them
0:31:00 > 0:31:03where we believe the main suspect here in the UK,
0:31:03 > 0:31:09who is supplying the counterfeit medicines on behalf of the gang in Pakistan, is based.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13After months of surveillance, it's now down to a dawn knock.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15- I hear someone.- Police! Let us in!
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Inside, they are not disappointed.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26The place is packed with fake drugs,
0:31:26 > 0:31:30a whole range traded from a scruffy bedsit,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33the contents of the drugs unknown.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37People that sell this sort of thing obviously have no conscience
0:31:37 > 0:31:41because these medicines are prescription-only medicines
0:31:41 > 0:31:46and they can cause side-effects, so you need a doctor to assess you properly.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50We've got here Valium which is a controlled drug.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54We've seen this before as well because there's a market for this.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59This branded diazepam can have serious side-effects even when used properly,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03but these fakes mixed with other drugs could be deadly.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06Even fake Viagra has risks.
0:32:06 > 0:32:12If you've got a dodgy heart and you take some of these medicines for impotence or erectile dysfunction,
0:32:12 > 0:32:17you're opening up your valves and putting a lot more pressure on your heart.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20There is one arrest, but the team are aiming higher.
0:32:20 > 0:32:26They want the people who placed this man in a grubby bedsit packed with fake drugs.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31It's very important to make sure that we impact the organised gang behind this.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34In this case, it is an international criminal gang.
0:32:34 > 0:32:40We'll make the necessary phone calls to law enforcement authorities in Pakistan we've been liaising with.
0:32:40 > 0:32:46They're on stand-by to execute the equivalent of warrants there and conduct raids in Pakistan.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51That should be going off in the next half an hour or so.
0:32:51 > 0:32:57As the suspect heads off to the local nick, he just misses the postman with a large delivery.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Not to worry - the team will take it for him.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Whatever could be inside?
0:33:06 > 0:33:10OK, so this parcel has just arrived while we're here at the premises,
0:33:10 > 0:33:15while our investigators are seizing and quantifying all the other products.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19They've spoken to the suspect. This has been delivered by Royal Mail.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22If you have a look, this is blisters of Viagra.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26These fakes cost pennies to make, but each one sells for £5.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29That's a better return than cocaine or heroin.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33In cases around the world, there's been reports of chalk,
0:33:33 > 0:33:37there's been reports of the paint you'd get for painting roads,
0:33:37 > 0:33:43there's been rat poison, and people have ended up taking innocently, children included, cough medicine,
0:33:43 > 0:33:49but they've been taking the main ingredient for antifreeze, causing a number of deaths.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51We don't want that here in the UK.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55The total haul in this one bedsit is worth over £150,000.
0:34:03 > 0:34:09Remember Ezeibe and his family, conned by one of the many fake holiday let websites?
0:34:09 > 0:34:11It had brilliant pictures.
0:34:11 > 0:34:17It had a telephone number, contact address, everything you'd expect a legitimate site to have.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Ezeibe paid a deposit, but there was no property.
0:34:20 > 0:34:26Now, we can't even warn you of the company's name because it changes every few weeks.
0:34:26 > 0:34:32Authorities and victims are left to watch it reappear at a new web address.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Oh, my gosh, that's exactly the same place! That's the same address.
0:34:36 > 0:34:42That is an exact replica, if not the very site that I was on. People should not be able to do this,
0:34:42 > 0:34:49to just shut down and start again and be seemingly unstoppable. Someone needs to stop these people.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53Similar sites are ripping people off every day
0:34:53 > 0:34:56and the law just can't keep up with them.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04We've recruited Which? magazine's Matt Bath.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08He thinks knowing our enemy will help us defeat the online con men.
0:35:08 > 0:35:13We've given him just 15 minutes to build a fake website.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15I can build my fake website for free.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18I don't need to spend money to con people out of theirs
0:35:18 > 0:35:23and the first step is to choose a web name that's really easy and people will believe.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28We're going to choose Trusted London Rentals.
0:35:34 > 0:35:40As far as this website is concerned, I'm a legitimate business about to offer a legitimate service
0:35:40 > 0:35:44and not in the business of ripping people off. Little do they know.
0:35:45 > 0:35:51I need some pictures of some property, so I need to go online to my local estate agents
0:35:51 > 0:35:54and steal the pictures of their property.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57This is effectively property hijacking.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01And the address they steal could be yours.
0:36:09 > 0:36:15Now then, let's have "we loved your property".
0:36:15 > 0:36:19"Fantastic service
0:36:19 > 0:36:22"and very reliable."
0:36:22 > 0:36:26It's like the Wild West out there sometimes. Let's go.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32"London Rentals...
0:36:35 > 0:36:39"Trusted, rated, reviewed...
0:36:42 > 0:36:45"The Mews." That sounds fantastic.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52I also haven't had to go through any checks.
0:36:54 > 0:37:00It is almost the perfect crime. As a criminal, I can be anywhere in the world.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05I can be up and running in 15 minutes and I can be gone again just as quickly.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11Click "next" and bang, our website is up and running!
0:37:12 > 0:37:15You've been warned. Here are our tips.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Only pay by credit card.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Check addresses and phone numbers are real.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24If you can't contact the company, walk away.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35Our next story is about a crime-busting grandmother.
0:37:35 > 0:37:41Chrissie Manz was happy silver-surfing round the net, comparing prices and buying gifts.
0:37:41 > 0:37:47That is when she stumbled across and exposed Britain's biggest ever counterfeit racket -
0:37:47 > 0:37:49fake golf equipment.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52She is our very own Miss Marple.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02Enjoying retirement, Alf and Chrissie Manz just love playing golf.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05I can't get it out of the hole!
0:38:05 > 0:38:08- Hold it straight.- I'm trying to.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12When they bought some brand-new clubs on eBay,
0:38:12 > 0:38:16the happy silver surfers soon discovered they had been conned.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20I got home and said to Chrissie, "You'll never guess what!" "What?"
0:38:20 > 0:38:22"The clubs I bought are fakes!"
0:38:22 > 0:38:27I never in a million years thought they would make fake golf clubs.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31Yes, you get fake T-shirts and trainers and this sort of thing,
0:38:31 > 0:38:36but high-end stuff like golf equipment where you pay over £100 a club,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39I never in a million years thought they'd make copies of them.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43The ad also said that there was a no-quibble guarantee,
0:38:43 > 0:38:47so if we didn't like the clubs, we'd get our money back,
0:38:47 > 0:38:49so that's what we tried to do.
0:38:49 > 0:38:55We wrote to the seller, first by email, and got absolutely no response whatsoever,
0:38:55 > 0:38:59so then I decided to go to the local Trading Standards Office.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03The fakers had made a big mistake.
0:39:03 > 0:39:08Ignoring Chrissie's request for a £100 refund led to an investigation
0:39:08 > 0:39:12that would bring down a £3 million criminal network.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16'We initially thought it was a one-off.'
0:39:16 > 0:39:19We had no reason to suspect
0:39:19 > 0:39:24it would eventually turn into a worldwide conspiracy and fraud.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Officers started watching the eBay account of seller Gary Bellchambers
0:39:28 > 0:39:33and soon discovered he was running over 100 accounts.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Here we have the main bulk of our haul,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40our golf clubs that we've seized.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44We've got close to 2,500 clubs, all of the main brands.
0:39:44 > 0:39:50Although they look like the real thing, the paint looks OK, the lettering looks fine,
0:39:50 > 0:39:54the shaft detail looks very good and the grip looks like a genuine thing,
0:39:54 > 0:39:59once people start hitting them, they'll realise they're not genuine.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04Marketing was all-important with regard to this particular scam
0:40:04 > 0:40:10because they were priced in such a way that they weren't so cheap that people would think they were fake,
0:40:10 > 0:40:16but they were expensive enough that people would think they were genuine items, but at a bargain price.
0:40:16 > 0:40:22Bellchambers had a factory in China churning out the latest clubs that he would ship around the world.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25They were costing him under a fiver apiece.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28It's the biggest ever fraud on eBay.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32We do know that there were in excess of 90,000 listings,
0:40:32 > 0:40:36so if you worked out on a base figure of £60,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39which the Odyssey 2-Ball putters were,
0:40:39 > 0:40:42that works out to £5.5 million worth of stock.
0:40:42 > 0:40:48Fred and the team successfully prosecuted Gary Bellchambers and he was jailed for four years.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53It's very satisfying to know that the guys who perpetrated this scam
0:40:53 > 0:40:59are not out here enjoying this lovely sunshine that we're getting at the moment and are behind bars.
0:41:01 > 0:41:07- So you can't blame your fake clubs any more for your appalling game. - No, I'm afraid I can't.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12I think someone might regret not refunding one plucky woman £100.
0:41:18 > 0:41:23Chrissie, exposing a £3 million scam, you must be very proud of yourself.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27I am, yes. I never thought when I first got into this
0:41:27 > 0:41:32that it would balloon into such an enormous scam, really. It's amazing.
0:41:32 > 0:41:38How are you viewed by your family? Are you a supergran with a big S on your T-shirt?
0:41:38 > 0:41:43- Something like that. Don't mess with me, they say.- Did the website look very professional?
0:41:43 > 0:41:48Yes, it had extracts from Golf Monthly and other golfing magazines,
0:41:48 > 0:41:52saying "as used by professionals" and all stuff like that.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56- You were very brave. You actually went to court.- I did.- Why?
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Again I didn't think too much about it.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04My husband was a bit concerned that they would send the heavies round,
0:42:04 > 0:42:08but Trading Standards assured us nothing like that would ever happen.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12- What do you do differently now? - There are so many forums
0:42:12 > 0:42:16and those sort of things available these days on the internet.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18Just do as much research as you can.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22Especially if it's a high value item,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25I'd certainly delve a bit deeper
0:42:25 > 0:42:28and make sure it's a reputable company.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31- It hasn't put you off. It's made you wiser.- Yes.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35- Had you got your money back, would that have been the end of it? - Probably.
0:42:35 > 0:42:42- That bloke must be absolutely sick in his prison cell now, slapping himself round the face.- Absolutely.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45Don't trust everything you buy on an auction site.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53That's all from Fake Britain today. Bye for now.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk