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.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27It's just an ordinary house.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29It could be anywhere in the country
0:00:29 > 0:00:32but this is a house that's filled with fakes,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36and you may not know it, but your home could be full of them too.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38During the series, we will be investigating the criminals
0:00:38 > 0:00:42trying to get their hands on your cash by using forgeries,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44frauds and fakery,
0:00:44 > 0:00:48and I'll be showing you how you can avoid being taken for a ride.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51On today's show,
0:00:51 > 0:00:56fake safety labels on the powerful laser pointers that can blind.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00It's quite shocking, really, that a pen with one button
0:01:00 > 0:01:03can have such an influence on whether somebody lives or dies.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08And the shocking fake dangerous laptop chargers flooding Britain.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12I remember thinking that's it.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14So that's how my life ends.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Now this may look like a pen, but it's not. It's, in fact, a laser.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30The sort that's often used for teaching or giving presentations,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32but because it's a laser,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36there are very strict rules on the strength of beam that's being sold
0:01:36 > 0:01:41and that strength is usually indicated on this label here.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45As we are about to discover, these labels are being faked
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and that means that powerful lasers are being mis-sold
0:01:48 > 0:01:53and could end up in the wrong hands and that is highly dangerous.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Craig Redman is an air ambulance helicopter pilot.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03When he's called out to a patient, every second counts.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06He needs to be able to see clearly to do his job,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09but he's coming up against troublemakers on the ground
0:02:09 > 0:02:13who are shining powerful laser beams up at his helicopter.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16And Craig's not the only one to be affected.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Recent figures show that in one year alone there were
0:02:19 > 0:02:23nearly 2,000 incidents of laser pens being shone towards aircraft.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Many of the lasers aren't quite what they seem.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32A lot of the labels that are on them are fake.
0:02:32 > 0:02:33The pens are fake themselves.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36They are made by the cheapest components
0:02:36 > 0:02:38and not necessarily the safest ones.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42The legal limit for laser pens in the UK is one milliwatt.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45The problem is you can't tell how powerful a laser pen is
0:02:45 > 0:02:47if it's got a fake label.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49What is the power of that?
0:02:49 > 0:02:51It could be ten milliwatts.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55One that is maybe 20 could actually blind me and therefore I might crash.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59It's Craig's job to get medical help to his patients
0:02:59 > 0:03:01as quickly as possible.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05There's someone that needs the paramedic that is on board.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08There is somebody either about to die, who is dying,
0:03:08 > 0:03:13and getting that guy to them straightaway will obviously help.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19But one night when Craig was on his way to rescue a pensioner
0:03:19 > 0:03:22who had had a heart attack, the very worst happened.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27As we were doing the orbits around the town,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31we got lasered from one of the green laser pens from a property.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Helicopter pilots are trained to keep their cool under pressure
0:03:36 > 0:03:39but with a laser attack your options are very limited.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46When the first initial laser blast hit the aircraft, the first
0:03:46 > 0:03:51thing it kind of makes you want to do is close your eyes and turn away.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57It's got a big dazzling effect, which makes it very hard to look out.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00However, you've still got to fly the aircraft.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05It's a very, very dangerous situation that we are in.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Police cameras on board the helicopter picked up
0:04:08 > 0:04:09the source of the laser beam.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16You can see how bright that beam is and how long it's kept on for.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17Quite dramatic, really.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21You have to imagine that the three people that were in the aircraft
0:04:21 > 0:04:24are getting this laser into their eyes at the time.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29It's taken me back to the night, actually.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Yeah, I remember it as if it was kind of yesterday.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Craig helped us to recreate the dazzling effect of being
0:04:46 > 0:04:49lasered using his helicopter, a powerful laser pen,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51and the cover of darkness.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54Clear.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57'What we're going to do, we've got a camera set up inside with nobody in.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00'There's nobody in the aircraft for safety reasons.'
0:05:00 > 0:05:02I'm just going to shine that into the cockpit just
0:05:02 > 0:05:07so you might be able to see the glow of the laser itself.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09So, here we go.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14These vivid images show how Craig
0:05:14 > 0:05:18and his team would have been dazzled on the night of the incident.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21And it left Craig with only one option.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28I elected that night not to land because every time
0:05:28 > 0:05:31we did an orbit and an approach to land, we were lasered.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37The consequences of that were the paramedic that we had on board
0:05:37 > 0:05:41couldn't help the technicians etc that were on scene,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44which is a very experienced paramedic.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46He may have been able to help the patient
0:05:46 > 0:05:49and get the extra care that a paramedic brings.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Sadly, the heart attack victim later died.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56The true consequences of this laser attack,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00delaying the paramedic and his life-saving equipment,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03getting to the patient, will never really be known.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08He would have been in a better place with better care
0:06:08 > 0:06:12and better medical equipment maybe to save his life.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15And that's still on our minds,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17as the crew of that night,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21that we could have helped but we weren't allowed to.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25The men behind the laser attack
0:06:25 > 0:06:28later pleaded guilty to directing or shining a light
0:06:28 > 0:06:30at an aircraft in flight.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36There's no doubt, though, that Craig was lasered by a pen much more
0:06:36 > 0:06:39powerful than that one milliwatt legal limit.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47It's quite shocking, really, that a pen with one button can have such an
0:06:47 > 0:06:51influence on our job and an influence on whether somebody lives or dies.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56A laser beam can travel for miles until it hits an object in the sky.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00But what happens when the target is a person on the ground?
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Teenager Kieran Waters found out the hard way
0:07:03 > 0:07:06when he was minding his own business at school.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09I was stood by the window in my form room
0:07:09 > 0:07:13and one of my classmates decided to walk over and hit me
0:07:13 > 0:07:16with a laser pen and just shone it point-blank in my eye, really.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21At first, it just seemed harmless high jinks or loutish behaviour.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28The laser was shone in my eye for about two seconds, if that.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31It was really just brightness.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35But Kieran soon realised that his vision had been affected.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39My vision got a lot blurrier than it was.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42There was also just a spot where I couldn't really see anything.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47It was just gone. There was nothing there.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49With his vision deteriorating rapidly,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54Kieran's mum Rhonda rushed him to hospital to get him checked out.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57I took him to the A&E and they took him to
0:07:57 > 0:07:59the eye specialist in the hospital
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and they took photographs of the back of his eye and did sight checks.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Kieran was examined by Mr Ahmed Kamal,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09a retinal consultant at Liverpool's Aintree Hospital.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14He soon found that the high school prank had gone horribly wrong.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Kieran had scarring, a very small "spot scar", we call it,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22in the fovea area, which is most important to see through,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24and one loses vision immediately.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Unfortunately, the central vision which is damaged,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30that is permanently affected.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It was devastating news for Kieran who will now have to live
0:08:33 > 0:08:36with partial vision for the rest of his life.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39He allowed Mr Kamal to show us his medical records
0:08:39 > 0:08:43to demonstrate the damage caused by the laser pointer.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46What I'm seeing here is Kieran's right eye.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49This is the scarred a bit along with a black spot there.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53You can see that there's a big defect of the layer here,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56which probably appears like a cyst.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Like a black spot.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00That's the area which is damaged.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03There's no doubt that the laser pen that partially blinded Kieran
0:09:03 > 0:09:05was illegal.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08No legal one milliwatt laser pen has ever caused this
0:09:08 > 0:09:10kind of substantial damage.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14This is a result of a high-intensity,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17high wattage laser, just for a few seconds,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21and it's unbelievable that such a small duration
0:09:21 > 0:09:24can cause such permanent, irreversible damage.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Mr Kamal is treating an increasing number of patients with
0:09:29 > 0:09:34laser pen injuries and it looks as though Kieran won't be his last.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Coming up, the man who made
0:09:36 > 0:09:40and sold thousands of fake laser pens from the Lancashire suburbs,
0:09:40 > 0:09:45some of which were 700 times more powerful than the legal limit.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51Officers were shocked to find a laser device of this size.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01We are mad about mobile computing in this country,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04but from time to time, we can also be rather forgetful and that's
0:10:04 > 0:10:10why there's a huge market for these things, replacement laptop chargers.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13They sell tens of thousands of them every year,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16and like any electrical item, safety is paramount.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19After all, you have mains coming in at one end
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and you and your laptop at the other end.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27So what happens if your laptop charger is a fake?
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Martin Russell is a teacher who regularly uses his laptop
0:10:32 > 0:10:35when he is preparing his lessons at school.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37For a while, he thought nothing of using
0:10:37 > 0:10:41a replacement laptop charger ordered from the internet.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44It was a regular day at school.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48I remember it well. It was quite a nice summer's afternoon.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54As I was working away, I noticed that the battery was starting to
0:10:54 > 0:10:58drain on the laptop so I picked up the charger.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03I held the body of the charger in my left hand.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Nothing could prepare Martin for what happened next.
0:11:08 > 0:11:16I plugged the laptop charger into the mains and there was an almighty bang.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23And a blinding flash.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32And in that moment, I temporarily lost my vision,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36lost my hearing and remember being stood in one place and,
0:11:36 > 0:11:42for a split second, thinking, "That's it, so that's how my life ends."
0:11:44 > 0:11:47At first, Martin had no idea what had happened.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Neither, for that matter, did anyone else in the room.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54I just came back into this awareness of a silent room and all
0:11:54 > 0:12:01eyes on me and I wondered in that moment what had actually happened.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Was I actually still in one piece? It was quite a scary moment.
0:12:05 > 0:12:06The force of the blast
0:12:06 > 0:12:10and the molten plastic damaged Martin's clothing.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14What was particularly scary was seeing that the explosion had
0:12:14 > 0:12:18actually penetrated through the tie, all the way through
0:12:18 > 0:12:19and into the shirt.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22You can see the burn hole in the shirt,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25and quite clearly, the burn on the tie.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30But Martin quickly realised that the explosion had, in fact,
0:12:30 > 0:12:31left him injured.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35In this picture you can see quite clearly
0:12:35 > 0:12:41the sooting on my hand that was holding the laptop charger.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46The pain I can only liken to a scald of some sort.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50And the blast had left the charger in a potentially lethal condition.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54I was holding exposed live wires against my chest.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58It's obviously very close to the vital organs, the heart
0:12:58 > 0:13:00and the like, and it's only by pure chance that
0:13:00 > 0:13:03I didn't actually come into contact with those.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07There were concerns that Martin could have received
0:13:07 > 0:13:11a massive electric shock from the charger during the explosion,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14so he was rushed to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
0:13:14 > 0:13:16to get checked over.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20The doctor was concerned.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24He took me straight through to the examination room,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27and wired me up to a machine
0:13:27 > 0:13:32and gave me an ECG to check the function of my heart.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37He actually explained to me that any shock like that is potentially
0:13:37 > 0:13:41very, very dangerous and could interrupt the function of the heart.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Thankfully, Martin was given the all clear.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54I remember leaving the hospital and walking home with, yeah,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57a new perspective, I suppose.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Thinking about how close I had actually come to
0:14:01 > 0:14:06either serious injury or a fatality really brought home for me
0:14:06 > 0:14:11how dangerous
0:14:11 > 0:14:15replacement or counterfeit chargers actually can be.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Once back on his feet, Martin took a closer look
0:14:19 > 0:14:23at the safety labelling on the fake laptop charger
0:14:23 > 0:14:25that could have cost him his life
0:14:25 > 0:14:28and noticed something very strange about the wording.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32"This device must accept any interference received
0:14:32 > 0:14:37"including interference that may cause undesired operation."
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Clearly something has been lost in translation somewhere.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Hannah Davies and Mohammed Tariq from Birmingham Trading Standards
0:14:46 > 0:14:49have seen exactly the same badly written
0:14:49 > 0:14:52and confusing English on thousands of fake laptop chargers
0:14:52 > 0:14:55that they have seized.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59"Warning, this device may not cause harmful interference."
0:14:59 > 0:15:02If anyone out there actually understands what that means
0:15:02 > 0:15:06then please give us a call because I haven't got a clue.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11The CE mark is fake and it's unsafe.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14She's got some advice for people in the market for a new charger.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Check the packaging to make sure
0:15:16 > 0:15:19that there's an importer's details on there,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23that retailer's details are on there, that the English is written
0:15:23 > 0:15:27in a readable manner and that you can understand it.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32In a recent raid in Birmingham, 28,000 fake laptop chargers,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35just like the one that exploded on Martin Russell,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38were seized from an eBay trader.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41In the future, Martin will be taking a much closer look
0:15:41 > 0:15:44at the laptop chargers that he uses.
0:15:44 > 0:15:50Having realised just how dangerous fake chargers can be, or indeed
0:15:50 > 0:15:57any fake electrical item, it's a risk that nobody should ever be taking.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02We are actually playing with our own lives and the lives of others.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Now we've seen how dangerous illegal laser pens are falling
0:16:12 > 0:16:15into the wrong hands and causing havoc up in the air...
0:16:16 > 0:16:18..and down on the ground.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22And it turns out that fake laser pens are being manufactured
0:16:22 > 0:16:25right here in Britain.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30When Lee Ormandy from Lancashire Trading Standards received
0:16:30 > 0:16:33complaints about laser pens people had bought from an internet trader,
0:16:33 > 0:16:38he thought he might be dealing with a product quality issue.
0:16:38 > 0:16:44This is the actual laser pointer in question that was purchased.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46It cost 40 quid
0:16:46 > 0:16:51and it was advertised as being one milliwatt in strength.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55In Britain, laser pointers should carry labels
0:16:55 > 0:16:57showing how powerful they are.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02It's illegal to sell laser pointers more powerful than one milliwatt.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Lee decided to send the apparently one milliwatt laser pointer
0:17:05 > 0:17:07for testing in a specialist laboratory
0:17:07 > 0:17:11at the Health Protection Agency
0:17:11 > 0:17:13and he was amazed by the results.
0:17:14 > 0:17:20The Health Protection Agency found it to be 40 times that strength.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26The mislabelled pen was blasting out 40 milliwatts of laser power.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31The information label is fake because it's indicating that
0:17:31 > 0:17:35the product is of the legal strength of one milliwatt.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38But how many more powerful laser pens
0:17:38 > 0:17:41with fake labelling were out there?
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Trading Standards had enough evidence to take action.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Lee took us back to the suburbs
0:17:48 > 0:17:51where the laser pen trader was raided.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54This is the area where
0:17:54 > 0:17:59the laser pen manufacturing was taking place.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02The officers were astounded by what they found behind the front door
0:18:02 > 0:18:05of one of these very ordinary homes.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Trading Standards had walked right into a laser pen factory.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18He was purchasing the constituent parts of the laser device
0:18:18 > 0:18:24and then putting them together in order to sell a completed item.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Thousands of home assembled laser pens were crammed into every
0:18:29 > 0:18:31nook and cranny of the house.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35And were even found in a large cargo container in the back garden.
0:18:37 > 0:18:4115,000 laser devices of various sizes
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and various designs were found,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49of which this is the most extreme.
0:18:49 > 0:18:55Officers were quite shocked to find a laser device of this size.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00The laser pens were rounded up
0:19:00 > 0:19:03and once again sent to the Health Protection Agency to be tested
0:19:03 > 0:19:06by laser expert Dr John O'Hagan.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Bearing in mind the one milliwatt legal power limit for laser pens
0:19:12 > 0:19:15sold in the UK, the results were astonishing.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20That's giving us 80 milliwatts.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23This is 80 times the level at which we would expect to be
0:19:23 > 0:19:25available to the public and, of course,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28it doesn't look any bigger than the other laser products.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31That's a problem when these are just on market stalls or even just
0:19:31 > 0:19:33publicised on the internet.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35It doesn't look very big.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37The sort of thing you can stick in your pocket
0:19:37 > 0:19:39and yet it's a very powerful device.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44John also tested this beast of a laser which was
0:19:44 > 0:19:45seized during the raid.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53They tend to be about 700-800 milliwatts.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57This illegal laser turned out to be a massive 700 times
0:19:57 > 0:19:59more powerful than the legal limit.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Hot enough to burn skin at close range if used maliciously.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09It could certainly damage your eye in less than a blink of an eyelid.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12It's almost verging on being an offensive weapon out on the street.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Lee Ormandy from Lancashire Trading Standards
0:20:16 > 0:20:19was passed the test results.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23It was time to take a closer look at the labelling on these laser pens,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25which were marked as Sony.
0:20:25 > 0:20:32It's got the fake registered trademark of Sony.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34But more worrying than the fake trademark
0:20:34 > 0:20:35was the safety information.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39This is the information that is telling you
0:20:39 > 0:20:42what class of laser pointer it is,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46how strong the laser is.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50These labels are completely fake
0:20:50 > 0:20:54and they do not relate to the laser pointers at all.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Even the European safety marks on these laser pens
0:20:58 > 0:21:00couldn't be trusted.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Those are counterfeit.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Those are fake marks.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11This one here constructed in Singapore, again fake,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15because these were being produced in Preston.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18The fake home-made safety instructions were like a seal of
0:21:18 > 0:21:23approval for any troublemakers tempted to use the pen irresponsibly.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28In a safety instruction booklet,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32I would not expect it to be telling me how to pop balloons
0:21:32 > 0:21:35or how to ignite matches with the product.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42That is not a safe use of that particular product.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46There was more than enough damning evidence to bring a case
0:21:46 > 0:21:49against the seller of the fake laser pens.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Tech Yun Hii was sentenced to 180 days in prison
0:21:53 > 0:21:57suspended for 18 months and 300 hours of community service.
0:21:59 > 0:22:05His 15,000 powerful laser pens were dangerous, illegal and fake.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08They've now been safely destroyed to stop them
0:22:08 > 0:22:10falling into the wrong hands.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13But for Kieran Waters, that doesn't help.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16In a few seconds, the laser that was pointed at him
0:22:16 > 0:22:18changed his life forever.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22It did affect him a lot.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24He didn't want to go out
0:22:24 > 0:22:27and he stayed more in his room, out of the way.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I'd say it's affected my school...quite badly.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34It takes me a lot longer to read now than it used to.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38It could possibly also ruin my future life
0:22:38 > 0:22:40because I want to work in forensics
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and that might not be possible now
0:22:42 > 0:22:44because I'd require the eyesight.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47The Waters family are still worried about others
0:22:47 > 0:22:51who might fall victim to the power of a fake laser pen.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54The thought of there being fakes out there that you can buy
0:22:54 > 0:22:58so cheap, that are so dangerous, it's horrifying,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01but it also makes me really angry.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05It's just scary that kids don't know what they're getting hold of
0:23:05 > 0:23:07and the potential damage they could be doing
0:23:07 > 0:23:10just because of a label that says they're safe when they're not.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Of course, once the fakers get their counterfeit goods into the country,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23they then have to find somewhere to store them
0:23:23 > 0:23:27and this is where Trading Standards can make a big difference.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Stopping those goods at that point in the supply chain,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33before they get to consumers like you and me.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Richard Nowacki, from Hillingdon Trading Standards,
0:23:38 > 0:23:43has received intelligence there may be an assembly line for fakes
0:23:43 > 0:23:45in a warehouse unit on his patch.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48We want to make sure these goods aren't being sold.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Our main job is to protect consumers and legitimate businesses.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Today he's leading his team to the suspect warehouse.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59They've got vans to remove any counterfeits they find.
0:23:59 > 0:24:00They've even got a sniffer dog.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05There he goes. The team's straight in.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Just look around you. There's plenty of boxes here to examine
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and have a look at, and God knows what we'll find in them.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15At first glance this doesn't look like a distribution centre
0:24:15 > 0:24:19that major international companies would be using.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21The team begins a thorough search.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Within moments, Richard's made a find.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26We've just come across these watch batteries
0:24:26 > 0:24:30and as you can see they're labelled Sony. They look a little suspect.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33One wonders whether Sony would market them in this particular way.
0:24:33 > 0:24:39If you look at the spelling here - "Madein Japan". It's "Made IN Japan".
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Spelling mistakes are a giveaway that it's counterfeit.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47I think these might be counterfeit and we'll be seizing them today.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49And it doesn't just stop with batteries.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51There are other fake items as well.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54While the others continue to search the warehouse,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Richard finds what he suspects are supplies for a production line.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02What we've come across is a cottage industry.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Here you see a range of stickers and they're just fixing them to lighters.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10A blank lighter, and to it is affixed a Manchester United trademark.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15And that makes them more valuable once they're out in the marketplace.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19From the records they've found, the team identifies that the area
0:25:19 > 0:25:22they're looking at all belongs to one man.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25All of this is owned apparently by the same guy.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28They ask him to come and explain all the counterfeits.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35While they're waiting for him, they make even more discoveries.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38We've got these earphones - Beats by Dr Dre.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41This appears to be a production line of fakes.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44The headphones are £130 upwards in the shops,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47but these counterfeits will have cost a fraction of that.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Here's the headphones.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54No logo. You've got the packaging there.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59There we go. There's the logos.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02The headphones are shipped in without any logos,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04to make it harder for Customs to seize them.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07With no branding, they're not so obviously counterfeit.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Once they make it to the warehouse, the logos are put on and they
0:26:11 > 0:26:15get boxed up for sale for a lot more than they cost the counterfeiter.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18All the headphones, which looks like they're a bit
0:26:18 > 0:26:21further along in the process cos they've got the logo affixed to them.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24A complete assembly line.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26This isn't the man who owns the warehouse,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30it's the man who rents it, and he says he lets it to someone else.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Could you tell us, out of this area, what's yours and what's not yours?
0:26:37 > 0:26:40In this area here, what's yours in this area here?
0:26:42 > 0:26:43No?
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Are these yours?
0:26:45 > 0:26:46They're not yours?
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Are these yours?
0:26:48 > 0:26:50The Sony batteries.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52What actually is yours then?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59So you're not taking responsibility for any of this?
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Have you paid for this storage area? You've sublet it to someone else?
0:27:02 > 0:27:05The other person who's coming down, you've sublet it to?
0:27:05 > 0:27:09OK, so he'll take responsibility for this.
0:27:09 > 0:27:10Surrounded by fake goods,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14his answers aren't convincing Trading Standards.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19The only problem I've got is obviously someone has to be legally
0:27:19 > 0:27:21responsible for this.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23How can you prove to us that this isn't yours?
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Is there any way that you could help us to help you?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36OK, OK. I think we'll leave it now, OK?
0:27:38 > 0:27:39All these good are being seized.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Trading Standards believe what they've got here is
0:27:42 > 0:27:46a production line, where counterfeit items were having famous brand logos
0:27:46 > 0:27:48applied, ready for sale.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It's difficult to put a value on what we've seized today,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55but I suspect it's going to be upwards of £100,000.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57You don't have to say anything...
0:27:57 > 0:28:01So who exactly is responsible for the production line of counterfeit
0:28:01 > 0:28:04goods we saw in the warehouse? Well, it's still not entirely clear,
0:28:04 > 0:28:08but the man supposedly subletting the space has never emerged
0:28:08 > 0:28:10and the investigation is still continuing.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19That's all from Fake Britain. Bye-bye.