0:00:02 > 0:00:06Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:06 > 0:00:07Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10Police!
0:00:20 > 0:00:22- Get down! Get down!- On the floor now!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Put your hands behind your back, now.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Here at the Fake Britain house, things might look familiar,
0:00:28 > 0:00:33but don't be taken in - because this is a house that's filled with fakes.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36In this series I'll be revealing the counterfeits,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40copies and cons that are flooding the market, fooling the public,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44making money for the criminals and maybe even putting you in danger.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46We'll be investigating those fraudsters
0:00:46 > 0:00:50who are cashing in by selling something that isn't real,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54and we'll be showing you how to avoid falling for a fake.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Today on Fake Britain, we lift the lid on the fake cigarettes
0:00:59 > 0:01:01that could burn down your house.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04My father said, "There's been a fire at home
0:01:04 > 0:01:06"and your mum's dead."
0:01:06 > 0:01:10And the nationwide crackdown on the fakers putting our lives in danger.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11We've got a huge supply here.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Who can you trust to fit your burglar alarm?
0:01:15 > 0:01:18The fake certificates putting livelihoods at risk.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22This certificate is fake, everything on it is fake.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26And we meet two pioneers of two very British folding bikes,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29both of whom are losing out to the fakers.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31All these products are fakes.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Here on Fake Britain we've seen a lot of these.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44They look like real cigarettes, but they're fake and illegal.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46They're often made in filthy conditions,
0:01:46 > 0:01:51and anything from rat droppings to mould have been found in them.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54But there's a new danger with fake cigarettes,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59and, as we're about to find out, just one of these could be deadly.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Cigarette fakers are blazing a trail across the country.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09Over 80% of UK-branded cigarettes seized by the HMRC are fake,
0:02:09 > 0:02:14and last year over a billion illicit cigarettes were seized.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Fake Britain has investigated fake cigarettes before,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20but now there's a shocking new development
0:02:20 > 0:02:24meaning fake and illegal cigarettes can kill in more ways
0:02:24 > 0:02:25than you might think.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29So police and trading standards teams across the country
0:02:29 > 0:02:30are cracking down.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Julie Grant from Spalding in Lincolnshire has had personal
0:02:37 > 0:02:41experience of the devastating effect of fake cigarettes.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Mum had had a couple of strokes at the age of 50, which had affected
0:02:45 > 0:02:49her mobility Dad had to do everything for her.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52He would get her ready on a Sunday evening
0:02:52 > 0:02:56so that she could sit for an hour while he nipped out for a pint,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59his little bit of respite after looking after her all day.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03She did enjoy a cigarette, and that's what she'd have been doing.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05She'd have been sitting having a soft drink
0:03:05 > 0:03:06and a cigarette.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10On one of those evenings when Julie's dad had gone out,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Julie was at home with her husband.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13All of a sudden,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17they received a phone call from the local police station.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Julie and her husband drove straight to the police station.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24She'll never forget what happened next.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29My father just looked up at me and said, "There's been a fire at home
0:03:29 > 0:03:30"and your mum's dead."
0:03:33 > 0:03:39Obviously he was in tears, and I gave him a hug. We were both in tears.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43But...you're hearing, but you're not quite understanding what's going on.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48The fire had torn through June Buffham's lounge.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51The devastation was such that the family weren't able
0:03:51 > 0:03:53to go to the house that night.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57But when Julie finally got there, she was shocked by what she found.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59It hit me like a brick.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01Mind-blowing.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03If you've never experienced a fire,
0:04:03 > 0:04:08you cannot comprehend what you're actually seeing.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Absolutely total devastation.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16The heat had just melted the television - it wasn't burnt,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18just melted, because of the heat.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Complete mess.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23With the help of the coroner and the fire services,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Julie was able to piece together what had happened to her mum.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Mum fell asleep, dropped the cigarette into the chair,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33where it lay there.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36And after laying there for what we've been told since
0:04:36 > 0:04:40would only have been a very short period of time,
0:04:40 > 0:04:41it would have ignited.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43And because my mum was disabled
0:04:43 > 0:04:45and was unable to get out of the chair,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48there was no escape route for her.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52So the fire had totally engulfed my mum.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57But the investigation didn't end there,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00and it started to focus on the type of cigarette
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Julie's mum had been smoking.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07The coroner's assistant asked my father the question,
0:05:07 > 0:05:12did my mother smoke the brand called Jin Ling?
0:05:12 > 0:05:14And my father said that yes,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18those were the cigarettes that Mum would have been smoking.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21And the coroner said that those would be used as part of the investigation.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24It really didn't mean anything to us -
0:05:24 > 0:05:28as far as we were concerned, they were just cigarettes.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Jin Ling is an illegal brand, created for the black market
0:05:32 > 0:05:34and smuggled across the world.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36And it can be dangerous
0:05:36 > 0:05:39because of the type of paper used in the cigarettes.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Dave Coss is a fire investigator with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48He was the first to examine the scene of the fire
0:05:48 > 0:05:49at June Buffham's home,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and he thinks he knows what caused her death.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55In November 2011,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58the European directive came into force within the EU
0:05:58 > 0:06:02that basically said that all cigarettes sold on retail market
0:06:02 > 0:06:07within the European Union has to be reduced ignition propensity -
0:06:07 > 0:06:10ie, they have to have two fire safety bands within them,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15which will reduce the chances of the cigarette continuing to burn
0:06:15 > 0:06:18if it's dropped down the side of a settee or a chair.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Studies at the time were showing anything up to about 70%
0:06:22 > 0:06:26less likelihood of a cigarette that's got the safety bands catching fire
0:06:26 > 0:06:30when compared to a fake or illegal or illicit cigarette,
0:06:30 > 0:06:31which has no fire safety features.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Dave shows us how to tell the difference
0:06:34 > 0:06:38between a genuine reduced ignition propensity cigarette
0:06:38 > 0:06:42and a fake cigarette without the safety bands.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45First he examines a genuine Marlboro cigarette,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48taken from a pack that we bought from a local shop.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Drawing a line with a marker pen
0:06:50 > 0:06:52down the inside of the cigarette paper,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55the fire safety bands become clearly visible.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58In order for a fire to continue burning, it needs heat,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00it needs oxygen and it needs fuel.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04And the idea behind the band is that the band is airtight,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06so it takes away the air from those three components.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08So it only leaves the fuel and the heat,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11which eventually means the fire will self-extinguish.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13But what about the fakes?
0:07:13 > 0:07:18We gave Dave a fake Marlboro cigarette and a Jin Ling cigarette
0:07:18 > 0:07:22from packs that were seized by Wolverhampton Trading Standards.
0:07:22 > 0:07:28Clearly no fire safety bands within the paper.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31If you compare that to the cigarette on the left,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34you can clearly see the two breaks in the line -
0:07:34 > 0:07:36those are the safety bands.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Therefore you can confirm the two on the right are fake cigarettes
0:07:39 > 0:07:42or illegal cigarettes, and the one on the left is a genuine cigarette.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Dave wanted to demonstrate to Fake Britain
0:07:47 > 0:07:50why fire safety bands are so important
0:07:50 > 0:07:52by carrying out a simple burn test
0:07:52 > 0:07:56in which fake and real cigarettes are lit and allowed to burn down.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01We're five minutes in on the clock.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03As you can see, the genuine Marlboro
0:08:03 > 0:08:06with the fire safety band in has extinguished itself.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08The moment the smoulder has hit the fire safety band,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11the fire safety band has extinguished it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15The fake Marlboro and the Jin Ling
0:08:15 > 0:08:19are almost halfway to three quarters burnt through.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Ten minutes in and the fakes have failed miserably.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27The fake Marlboro's completely burnt down to the core,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30and if we look at the Jin Ling,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32again, we're right down to the filter,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35and the filter is starting to burn now.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Down the side of a settee, that's ten minutes' worth of sustained smoulder,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42which would be sufficient to set fire to the settee.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43If you notice, now,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46the Jin Ling one's actually starting to burn the filter.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48It's not even extinguished when it's hit the filter -
0:08:48 > 0:08:50it's carried on burning straight through.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55At June Buffham's inquest, the Lincolnshire coroner linked
0:08:55 > 0:09:00illegal cigarettes with the house fire that caused her death.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Later, we're out with trading standards
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and the police as they discover shocking numbers
0:09:05 > 0:09:09of these potentially dangerous fake and illegal cigarettes.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12I've just noticed you were quickly trying to rush away with this bag.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21These are becoming an increasingly popular sight on our streets.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25More and more people are whizzing around on folding bikes.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27One minute you're sitting on it, the next,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30you're carrying it like a briefcase. Very clever.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32This is a Brompton, and this one is a STRiDA,
0:09:32 > 0:09:36and both were invented and developed by British designers -
0:09:36 > 0:09:38but take a look at these.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Almost identical to the Brompton and the STRiDA,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43but both illegal copies.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48The fakers' wheeling and dealing is damaging British business,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and putting cyclists at risk.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Britain's gone collapsible crazy.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58The folding bikes are now a common sight in our cities,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02as commuters pedal their way to and from work.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05And the Brompton is a very British success story.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08The company now has 230 employees,
0:10:08 > 0:10:14who hand-build around 45,000 folding bikes every year.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Bike nut Will Butler-Adams is Brompton's managing director.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Will is mad about genuine Bromptons.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24But he's hopping mad about copies,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28which have been appearing all over the internet.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30The problems began when Andrew Ritchie,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32the inventor of the Brompton,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34allowed a company in Eastern Asia
0:10:34 > 0:10:38to make a licensed copy of the Brompton for distribution.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42He gave his baby away and tried to teach somebody how to do it.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45They didn't make it themselves - they got this person to make it.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47That person got this person to make it,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50that person got this person to make it, Chinese whispers.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53The net result was a pretty diabolical thing.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58So Brompton backpedalled, and the licence for Eastern Asia
0:10:58 > 0:11:01to make shoddy Bromptons was not renewed.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04That's when the copycats shifted up a gear.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06People who had been suppliers thought, "Ooh!
0:11:06 > 0:11:07"Maybe we can do it ourselves."
0:11:07 > 0:11:10They never understood what they were doing from the outset.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15And in the meantime, our bike had moved on - but still they carried on.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19And that is a place where we have seen copies coming in illegally.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26The illegal Bromptons were imported into several European countries.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28They weren't carrying the Brompton name,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30but they all shared its unique design,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33which is protected by copyright.
0:11:33 > 0:11:34When the Oxford folding bicycle,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38which looks identical to the Brompton, appeared in Spain,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Brompton went to court.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43They were trying to copy the look,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45and make people sort of think
0:11:45 > 0:11:50that this was from the same family as the Brompton.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52And we won the case.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55The Spanish court ruled that the Brompton copy did infringe
0:11:55 > 0:11:58their intellectual property rights.
0:11:58 > 0:11:59Despite the win,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Will is still concerned that people could be fooled
0:12:02 > 0:12:07into thinking they're buying a bike made by Brompton when they're not.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09The interesting thing about the Brompton is,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12people don't look at a bike and look at the label
0:12:12 > 0:12:14and go, "That's a Brompton."
0:12:14 > 0:12:18The Brompton's so iconic, you know, you see one whizzing along,
0:12:18 > 0:12:20you know, "Oh, there's a Brompton."
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Because it's so unique.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24That's what people are trying to take,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and that's what they're trying to extract value from
0:12:28 > 0:12:30in order to dupe the customer.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Despite Brompton's wins against the fakers,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35there are still huge numbers of bogus Bromptons out there
0:12:35 > 0:12:37for sale on the internet.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39These are fake Bromptons.
0:12:39 > 0:12:40No two ways about it.
0:12:40 > 0:12:46The fact that there is a bike that's indirectly pretending to be us,
0:12:46 > 0:12:47selling off our reputation
0:12:47 > 0:12:50and all the time and energy and work that we put in
0:12:50 > 0:12:53to delivering that reputation,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56by taking care with what we make, is really sad.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02And Brompton isn't the only British folding bike
0:13:02 > 0:13:05to fall victim to the copycats.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10Mark Sanders is the inventor of the distinctive STRiDA folding bike.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14It took him years of research to perfect the design.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16The unique folding handlebar system
0:13:16 > 0:13:21and locking and front joint system are protected by patents.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23But that hasn't stopped the fakers.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27There's probably about 30 different factories making fakes.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31There's, you know, maybe ten times the production
0:13:31 > 0:13:34out of the fake factories than there is out of the official factory.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38A quick look on the internet reveals a shocking number
0:13:38 > 0:13:40of fake STRiDA bikes for sale.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Whoa! Look at all these STRiDAs!
0:13:43 > 0:13:48All these products are fakes of the genuine STRiDA bike.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Will Butler-Adams of Brompton and Mark Sanders of STRiDA
0:13:52 > 0:13:55take the safety of their folding bikes seriously.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57What about the fakes?
0:13:57 > 0:14:02Will and Mark decided to get hold of fake versions of their bikes.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04God! It feels terrible.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05It's all floppy.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08The handlebars are loose, the crank's loose,
0:14:08 > 0:14:09the whole frame's loose!
0:14:09 > 0:14:11I can't actually lift my legs up,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13because they're hitting the handlebar.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Here we go. Whoa!
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Aah!
0:14:17 > 0:14:18Aaaah!
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Will decides to carry out an impromptu brake test on his bike.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25OK? And I'm going to shove the brakes on...
0:14:25 > 0:14:26now!
0:14:27 > 0:14:29I mean, that is a joke.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Joking aside, Mark and Will's hands-on experience
0:14:33 > 0:14:38with copycat folding bikes has left them with serious safety concerns.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42I know the standard that the genuine thing has to pass,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45all that stuff is ignored on a fake.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50And then I feel really scared for people that buy those products.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Earlier we saw the devastation
0:15:00 > 0:15:03that fake cigarettes can leave in their wake.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06My father said, "There's been a fire at home
0:15:06 > 0:15:09"and your mum's dead."
0:15:09 > 0:15:13The fire that killed June Buffham was linked to a Jin Ling cigarette.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Jin Ling is a Russian brand designed purely for smuggling.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21In other words, it's a fake and illegal brand -
0:15:21 > 0:15:24and it's exploded onto the international market.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Customs officials are calling Jin Ling
0:15:27 > 0:15:30the most seized brand in Europe.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33The packaging resembles the American brand Camel,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35even down to its colouring and typeface,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38but instead of a camel on the Jin Ling packet,
0:15:38 > 0:15:39there's a mountain goat.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42These fake cigarettes are even out there in our shops.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Over several days, Fake Britain followed trading standards
0:15:48 > 0:15:50and the police across the country
0:15:50 > 0:15:54on the hunt for the potentially deadly Jin Ling cigarettes.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55Good boy.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Debra Craner and her team from Wolverhampton Trading Standards
0:15:58 > 0:16:02are joining forces with two specialists with a nose for fakery -
0:16:02 > 0:16:05tobacco detection dogs Indie and Bradley.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07He's got the dream of all jobs.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08You have, yeah.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Working with dogs all day, yeah.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17Debra and her team know that Jin Ling cigarettes can kill,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19so it's a race against time
0:16:19 > 0:16:22to get them off the shelves before anyone else is harmed.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Their intelligence has led them to a shop suspected of selling
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Jin Lings and other fake tobacco products.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Hi, I'm from trading standards.
0:16:30 > 0:16:31Wolverhampton City Council.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35We're just here today, we're just doing routine inspections,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38and we just want to look at your tobacco and cigarettes.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Time to unleash Indie.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48I just want the dogs to check the other side of the till.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Just cos you think that void, there's some...
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Just there.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57It's not long before she finds something of interest
0:16:57 > 0:16:59right behind the counter.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01- Oh, yeah.- No government health warning on them.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Been brought in illegally to the country.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Quite possibly the cigarettes are counterfeit,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09but it will be confirmed.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12So far they haven't uncovered any of the Jin Lings.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14But just around the corner,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17it's not long before Indie sniffs out something else.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18Oh...
0:17:18 > 0:17:19And there we go.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Well done, Indie, well done.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Good girl. Good girl.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27Concealed within these bin bags,
0:17:27 > 0:17:31an array of fake Golden Virginia and fake Amber Leaf.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35It's great to see the dogs working and in action.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Hundreds of fake cigarettes have been seized already,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42but still no sign of the potentially deadly Jin Lings.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44But there's still the basement to check,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47and Indie the detection dog doesn't need to be asked twice.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Good girl! Good girl.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Indie's very interested in this sofa.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Oh, yeah. We've got a huge supply here.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Finally they've found what they're looking for.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02This sofa is concealing thousands of Jin Ling cigarettes -
0:18:02 > 0:18:06the very same fake brand linked to the death of June Buffham.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09This is just a huge supply.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Debra's shocked by what they've found - and where they've found it.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15It's the first time I've come across, inside the sofa -
0:18:15 > 0:18:18but these unscrupulous traders,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20they're always trying to keep one step ahead.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22They're always thinking of, you know,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25"Where will trading standards not look?"
0:18:25 > 0:18:29And that's the advantage today, particularly, of having the dogs.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33The fake cigarettes are counted,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36bagged, tagged and taken away for analysis.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40In total they seize well over 5,000 Jin Ling cigarettes.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46With no time to lose, Debra and the team race to the next shop
0:18:46 > 0:18:49suspected of selling Jin Ling cigarettes.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53This time, the officers will have to keep a low profile.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57This area has a few shops where they have got lookouts.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59And previous operations that we've carried out,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02we've been aware that people are looking out
0:19:02 > 0:19:06and making those quick calls warning people to get rid of stock.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11It appears as if the lookouts are earning their keep,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15as Debra meets a man who's in a hurry to leave.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I just noticed you were quickly trying to rush away with this bag,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- so I'm just going to put this bag here, because...- Yeah, yeah.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Oh, yeah. I'm going to take a look in this bag, OK?
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Cos I can already see you've got some cigarettes in here.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31He was just about to leg it, so I've just had to stop him from legging it.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33- Right.- With a bag.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34He's got hundreds of Jin Lings
0:19:34 > 0:19:37and other fake cigarettes in his rucksack.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40And with thousands of pounds in cash found behind the counter,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42clearly business is booming.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43Goodness me.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46So, yeah...
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Certainly the Golden Virginia is confirmed by the brand holder,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52that is counterfeit.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56There's a strong possibility, therefore, that the others will be.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Over in Lincolnshire,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02trading standards officer Dan Brown is hoping
0:20:02 > 0:20:06that detection dog Bradley's keen sense of smell
0:20:06 > 0:20:09will smoke out some of the fake cigarettes flooding the county.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11We've got the Jin Ling brand of cigarette
0:20:11 > 0:20:14that fail the ignition propensity testing.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15They do not self-extinguish,
0:20:15 > 0:20:17so they'll keep on burning all the way down.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23With over 25,000 fake cigarettes seized between them,
0:20:23 > 0:20:24it's a great result
0:20:24 > 0:20:28for Wolverhampton and Lincolnshire Trading Standards.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33Later, we see the shocking results of our fake cigarette burn test.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Anyone within that room would be unconscious or dead now.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46When you've worked hard for your home
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and everything that's in it,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51you might want to protect it with a burglar alarm.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Your insurance company will probably ask you to get it fitted
0:20:54 > 0:20:59by someone who's accredited by an official security approval body.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03If you get burgled, this certificate is a seal of approval,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06meaning that your insurer should pay out.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09But THIS certificate is a fake,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11and it's not worth the paper it's written on.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Do you know who's fitting your burglar alarm?
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Having your home burgled can take a great deal of getting over,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25but in Britain it's a reality for one person every 40 seconds.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30There are over a million victims of burglary or attempted burglary
0:21:30 > 0:21:32across the country every year.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Lorraine White knows how it feels.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44When I was burgled, my bedroom had been completely ransacked,
0:21:44 > 0:21:49my jewellery had been taken, other property had been taken.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52You feel very vulnerable, very insecure.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57I needed a burglar alarm to help with the security in relation to that.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Lorraine's insurance company said her burglar alarm
0:22:00 > 0:22:01would need to be fitted by a company
0:22:01 > 0:22:05approved by one of the two main security approval bodies.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10Either NACOSS NSI, the National Security Inspectorate,
0:22:10 > 0:22:15or SSAIB, Security Systems and Alarms Inspections Board.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17You should be able to trust security companies
0:22:17 > 0:22:20with either of these stamps of approval.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22It means they've vetted their employees.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25And going with an approved company means you're much more likely
0:22:25 > 0:22:29to get an insurance payout if you get burgled.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Lorraine searched the web and found burglar alarm fitter Nick Parker.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36When I called Nick Parker on the telephone,
0:22:36 > 0:22:40I specifically mentioned that I needed him to be qualified,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42needed him to be approved.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45He stated that he was, and that is a service he could provide for me,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49so I agreed to let him come along and give me a quote inside my property.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Lorraine went with the quote.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Nick Parker fitted the alarm and gave her everything she needed
0:22:58 > 0:23:00to satisfy her home insurance company.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04This was the certificate that I got sent from Nick Parker.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07As you can see, it says "SSAIB", which is exactly what I needed
0:23:07 > 0:23:10to comply with the insurance company regulations.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14I sent that to my insurance company, they accepted it,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and that's what gave me my house insurance cover.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Lorraine was finally starting to feel secure in her own home.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24But all that was about to change.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I received a telephone call from trading standards
0:23:27 > 0:23:30claiming that Nick Parker was actually a fraud.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Nick Parker told me he was NACOSS and SSAIB registered.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Trading standards informed me that he wasn't.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42He'd actually lied about that.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45I now know that this certificate is fake.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Everything on it is fake.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51The logo, the signature from the "chief executive" -
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Lorraine had unwittingly misled her insurance company
0:23:55 > 0:23:58about the new alarm being approved.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00I was paying him to provide me with a service
0:24:00 > 0:24:02in relation to a burglar alarm,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04that effectively was a waste of money,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07because my insurance company wouldn't have paid out.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Had it have happened to me a second time,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13and not being covered by my house insurance,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15and losing absolutely everything again,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I don't know how I would have coped with that.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22Shockingly, Nick Parker's fakery
0:24:22 > 0:24:25didn't stop at his claims of being SSAIB accredited -
0:24:25 > 0:24:30as Mark Rolfe from Kent Trading Standards discovered,
0:24:30 > 0:24:31he was also lying
0:24:31 > 0:24:35about being accredited to the highest NACOSS Gold standard.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36As far as he was concerned,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Parker's fakery constituted a huge breach of trust.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44For people to find out that actually their burglar alarm engineer
0:24:44 > 0:24:48has committed fraud to get the business from them
0:24:48 > 0:24:50actually undermines their confidence in the security industry.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Finally, sentencing day arrived for Nick Parker -
0:24:57 > 0:24:59and Mark Rolfe was there for the result.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Nick Parker's been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment,
0:25:03 > 0:25:04suspended for two years,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08to a night-time curfew, so he can't leave his home between 7pm and 7am,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10and to a £5,000 costs order.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15It's exactly the right kind of sentence for the kind of fakery
0:25:15 > 0:25:17and fraudulent behaviour that he was involved in.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21We tried to catch up with Mr Parker...
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Just wondering if you've got anything to say to the victims.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26..but he wasn't in a talkative mood.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Earlier we followed trading standards officers
0:25:38 > 0:25:41seizing thousands of fake cigarettes across the country.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43They uncovered a haul of Jin Lings -
0:25:43 > 0:25:47the very same brand that caused the death of June Buffham.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Lincolnshire Fire and Recue were so concerned
0:25:53 > 0:25:56about the risks surrounding fake cigarettes falling onto sofas
0:25:56 > 0:26:00that they decided to run a demonstration to raise awareness.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07Fire safety manager Karl Turrill agreed to let Fake Britain film it.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10They'll use an ageing sofa,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14produced before the introduction of fire safety legislation.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16It's the sort of thing you might find in many homes
0:26:16 > 0:26:17across the country.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22This is one of the fake cigarettes we've got here.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25We're going to place it on the side of the sofa.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28As you can see, the cigarette has taken.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30The fake cigarette smoulders away,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and just a few minutes later, the flames take hold.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Already it's starting to produce quite a lot of smoke.
0:26:35 > 0:26:36That smoke is toxic.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39As things heat up,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Karl uses his thermal imaging camera to measure the temperature.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46That's up past 400 degrees there, now.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49I can zoom in there -
0:26:49 > 0:26:53437 degrees. It's an acrid, burning smell.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58All it takes is one or two breaths of this and most people will pass out.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01It's not long before the fire is raging out of control,
0:27:01 > 0:27:05and the Fake Britain camera crew is pulled back for their own safety.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10The amount of smoke that's being generated now
0:27:10 > 0:27:12is just much too dangerous for us to be near.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15You can see the vast amount of smoke that's being produced,
0:27:15 > 0:27:16just from one little sofa.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20All of this started from the one fake cigarette.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23As the temperature inside this makeshift sitting room
0:27:23 > 0:27:24hits 540 degrees,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27it's hot enough to reduce the television
0:27:27 > 0:27:30into a bubbling mass of molten plastic.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Karl's under no illusions as to the consequences
0:27:34 > 0:27:36of an inferno like this.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Smoke - thick, black, acrid smoke.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Anyone within that room would be unconscious or dead now.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51This fire is a perfect demonstration of what illegal cigarettes,
0:27:51 > 0:27:52fake cigarettes can do.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57The fire reached temperatures of well over 700 degrees.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01And it's basically torn through that entire room in minutes.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Anyone in there, sadly, would not have made it.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Cigarettes in general are terrible.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12But fake cigarettes are even worse.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22That's all from Fake Britain.
0:28:22 > 0:28:23Goodbye.