0:00:02 > 0:00:06Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Get down! Get down! Put your hands behind your back now!
0:00:25 > 0:00:29It's just an ordinary house. It could be anywhere in the country,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33but this is the Fake Britain house and it's filled with fakes.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37You may not know it, but your home could be too.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40In this series, we'll be investigating the criminals trying
0:00:40 > 0:00:47to get their hands on your cash by using fraud, forgeries and fakery.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51And I'll be showing you how you can avoid being taken for a ride.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59Today, on Fake Britain, the tragic story of Cheznye Emmons,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03the 23-year-old fatally poisoned by fake gin.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08The gin was like no other gin that I've ever seen before.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11It would kill anybody that drank it.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14With exclusive footage filmed for Fake Britain,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17we follow her father, as he turns investigator,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20to track down more of the killer counterfeit booze
0:01:20 > 0:01:23and warn other travellers of its dangers.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27I'm gutted, really, because this could kill somebody else's
0:01:27 > 0:01:29child and they're still selling it.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33We also recount the multimillion pound international fraud
0:01:33 > 0:01:38involving a powerful crime boss and dozens of fake companies.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42The whole idea was basically to peddle lies to UK consumers
0:01:42 > 0:01:46- just to get them to pay money.- And what's really in your lamb curry?
0:01:46 > 0:01:51We reveal the extraordinary level of food fakery across the UK.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52After the horse meat incident,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56I would expect all suppliers to be whiter than white at the minute.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58This is obviously not the case.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07It looks just like a bottle of gin, doesn't it?
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Maybe not a brand you'd recognise and possibly a bit cheap
0:02:10 > 0:02:13looking, but the sort of thing you could buy on holiday.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17However, what's inside this bottle isn't gin at all.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20It's a fake. And it's lethal.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24And drinking this stuff had tragic consequences for one young woman
0:02:24 > 0:02:298,000 miles away from her home in Essex.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Cheznye Emmons was a bright,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36bubbly 23-year-old beauty therapist from Southend.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39She set off on what promised to be an unforgettable trip through
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Asia with her boyfriend Joe.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45She hadn't done anything like this before.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49She'd really been looking forward to this.
0:02:50 > 0:02:56She was going to look at the volcano and also the orang-utan sanctuary.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01And she was saying that she was having a lovely time
0:03:01 > 0:03:05and was really enjoying it and met lots of friends.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Cheznye was in the rainforest town of Bukit Lawang
0:03:09 > 0:03:13in Indonesia, but then mum Pam received a phone call from
0:03:13 > 0:03:18Cheznye's boyfriend, Joe, saying that Cheznye had become very sick.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23She was in hospital, in intensive care.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27I just thought that probably she'd been out drinking too much and
0:03:27 > 0:03:33she hadn't felt well, so I wasn't initially too worried about it.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Cheznye had been drinking.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39She, Joe and a friend had bought some cheap gin,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44branded Mansion House, from the local shop to make some punch.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48But all three had gone home sick and spent the next day vomiting.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53From the bottle's design, it looked like a well-established brand,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56but it wasn't and the gin inside was fake.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00It was water mixed with the deadly solvent methanol,
0:04:00 > 0:04:05a cheap alternative to alcohol and more commonly found in antifreeze.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09They'd gone to sleep and when Cheznye woke up,
0:04:09 > 0:04:16she said she couldn't see, she said that Joe was just like a shadow.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19She couldn't make out any of his features
0:04:19 > 0:04:23and so they decided that they'd get her in the car quick.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29They was walking to the car, Cheznye actually collapsed.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Joe said the last thing she actually said to him was,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37"I really want a cup of tea." She used to like her tea.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38And he said that was it.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44When she arrived in the hospital in Medan
0:04:44 > 0:04:50and she got into the cubicle area and she went into a seizure.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Cheznye's condition deteriorated quickly.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Boyfriend Joe called her mum and dad again.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00When he called the second time and said that she was in a coma,
0:05:00 > 0:05:06that was really a shock. He said they'd said...
0:05:06 > 0:05:09The only thing he could understand
0:05:09 > 0:05:13was they'd said that she was brain dead.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19And that's really when it sort of hit me how serious it actually was.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24I was just sort of shocked. I just sort of went into...
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Don't know, sort of like a dream state, I suppose.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33I just let out a scream, going, "No, no, no!"
0:05:35 > 0:05:39The family arranged to fly out to be by Cheznye's side.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44They arrived in Indonesia and made straight for the hospital.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I've never seen anybody on a life-support machine before
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and she just looked beautiful.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57She looked brown, she was a beautiful kid,
0:05:57 > 0:06:02and she had a lovely suntan, she looked gorgeous.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It was the weirdest,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08strangest thing I think I've ever encountered in my life.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12When people say comas,
0:06:12 > 0:06:18you sort of imagine you can come out of comas, so we were sort of hoping
0:06:18 > 0:06:22more along those lines that it would be something that she would
0:06:22 > 0:06:24come out of.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29But Cheznye's situation was much worse than they had imagined.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34The fake gin had attacked her central nervous system, acidifying
0:06:34 > 0:06:40the blood, restricting oxygen supply and causing major organ failure.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45They showed us like a polygraph. It was completely flat, wasn't it?
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Yeah.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Basically, her brain was dead. Her brain stem was dead.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54And there was nothing else you could do.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58You know, I tried to...
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Sounds strange, but I tried to pinch her, I was shouting in her ear,
0:07:02 > 0:07:07touching her eyes, to try and get some sort of movement, just anything,
0:07:07 > 0:07:12just a flicker, just a twitch, and there was just nothing there.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16It was just horrific. Nothing there at all.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19The family was told that Cheznye wouldn't recover
0:07:19 > 0:07:24and were faced with the prospect of turning off her life-support machine.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Although I was hoping,
0:07:29 > 0:07:34I did feel that she wasn't going to be coming home.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38There was no other choice, just do what we had to do, you know
0:07:38 > 0:07:40what I mean.
0:07:40 > 0:07:47The hardest thing that anyone or any parent could ever do, ever. Just...
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Just didn't seem fair.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58Coming up - with 100,000 Brits visiting Indonesia every year,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Brent Emmons travels back to the country to see
0:08:01 > 0:08:05whether local shops are still selling the fake spirits.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07This is Russian roulette.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11They're potentially selling a bottle of poison to somebody.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20This is a lamb curry. This is a beef curry.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Lamb. Beef. Got it? Simple, isn't it?
0:08:23 > 0:08:25But as we've discovered,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28some British curry houses are finding that distinction
0:08:28 > 0:08:34rather hard to make and it's you and I, curry lovers, who are losing out.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42From baltis to pasandas, dhansaks to tikka masalas,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46curries are one of the nation's best loved dishes.
0:08:46 > 0:08:5023 million Brits tuck into one every month.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53But in the wake of the horse meat scandal,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57how can we know what we're ordering is exactly what we're getting?
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Lamb is one of the most expensive meats
0:08:59 > 0:09:02and Trading Standards have raised concerns that some
0:09:02 > 0:09:05restaurants are secretly substituting the tasty
0:09:05 > 0:09:08chunks of lamb in their dishes for something a bit cheaper.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11We decided to investigate for ourselves.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14We hit two curry hotspots to find
0:09:14 > 0:09:17out what's really in your lamb curry.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23We began our masala-thon in Yorkshire.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27We sent two researchers to Wakefield, Calderdale
0:09:27 > 0:09:31and Bradford to buy five lamb curries.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Further south, they hit the streets of east London,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39home to Brick Lane, southern England's curry mecca.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41They picked up five more meaty feasts,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44all supposed to contain lamb.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46The curries were then bagged and tagged
0:09:46 > 0:09:48and then it was time for testing.
0:09:50 > 0:09:56Our curries were brought to Worcestershire Scientific Services.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59The scientists here are food examination experts,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01responsible for analysing thousands of meat
0:10:01 > 0:10:04samples during the horse meat scandal.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Now it was time to find out
0:10:08 > 0:10:11if there was something suspect in our takeaways.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16First, the meat was separated from the vegetables
0:10:16 > 0:10:19and the rest of the sauce.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Then, it was minced to make it easier to inspect.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26The samples were mixed with various chemicals, heated into a kind
0:10:26 > 0:10:31of soup and then inserted into a machine that separates the DNA.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Finally, the results are in.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36How will our ten lamb curries do?
0:10:36 > 0:10:39The samples were described as lamb curries,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42but we've actually seen that three of them contained beef only.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46- There is no lamb in them. - It's official.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50The multiple strands of DNA reveal three out of the ten are fake
0:10:50 > 0:10:55lamb curries. The restaurants have used meat which is a lot cheaper.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58And Paul is shocked by the results.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01To have three samples out of ten that contain beef only
0:11:01 > 0:11:04when they're described as a lamb curry is surprising.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08That is a high proportion of substitution.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09After the horse meat incident
0:11:09 > 0:11:12and all the focus that went onto the food chain,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15particularly the meat supply within the food chain,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19you would expect all suppliers to be whiter than white at the minute.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21This is obviously not the case.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Award-winning curry chef Cyrus Todiwala OBE is
0:11:27 > 0:11:30outraged by the results of our tests.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33It is morally wrong.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Makes me feel rather sad that it is some of my fellow
0:11:36 > 0:11:38restaurateurs who could have done that.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43Whichever shape or form you look at it, it's wrong. It is cheating.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Cyrus explained how he believes the curry fakers are getting away
0:11:47 > 0:11:49with duping customers.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53Lamb has distinct flavour profile, but if I cut it really small
0:11:53 > 0:11:57and I mix it up and I cook with it, it would be very difficult, unless
0:11:57 > 0:12:01you're a real professional, to find out that it's beef and not lamb.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04An average person dining in a restaurant would not know
0:12:04 > 0:12:07the difference.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Food fraud like this can have serious
0:12:10 > 0:12:13repercussions for certain religious groups.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Jay Lakhani is director of the Hindu Academy.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21For him and other Hindus, the cow is sacred and they never eat beef.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24The Hindus would be very offended
0:12:24 > 0:12:29if they found they were eating lamb curry, which actually had beef in it.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Just as an Englishman will not eat dog meat or even horse meat,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37the Hindus will not eat cow's meat, beef.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41We passed the results of our survey to Trading Standards.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Amazingly, their own tests across the UK also
0:12:44 > 0:12:49reveal about a third of lamb curries contains beef.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52That suggests millions of people are being miss-sold lamb curries
0:12:52 > 0:12:54every year.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Karin Lowe is joint head of the food fraud investigation team.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01If a consumer's asked for a lamb curry,
0:13:01 > 0:13:02they should receive a lamb curry.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Food fraud does seem to occur more often in an economic downturn,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08but that doesn't make it right.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11It's still a criminal offence, at the end of the day,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14to miss-describe food and businesses can face penalties of up
0:13:14 > 0:13:18to £20,000 fine or two years in prison.
0:13:18 > 0:13:24- Cyrus Todiwala has a message for the fakers.- Please don't do it.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Please announce it. Please tell the people that I am not cooking lamb
0:13:27 > 0:13:30because I can't afford it, or whatever reason I have got.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Why don't you try beef curry instead of lamb curry? People trust you.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37You cannot break that trust, you cannot break that respect.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Not surprisingly, since we're in the Fake Britain house,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49all of these pharmaceutical products are fakes.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52We've looked at bogus medicines before on Fake Britain
0:13:52 > 0:13:55and they're still flooding into the country.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58We don't know what's in them, we don't know where they were made,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00or the conditions they were made in.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05What we do know is that they're on sale right now online.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08We've been following the teams whose job it is to protect us
0:14:08 > 0:14:10from this kind of fakery.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Danny Lee-Frost, head of enforcement for medical watchdog the MHRA,
0:14:17 > 0:14:22is engaged in an ongoing battle against fake medicine traders.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25This morning, he's on his way to raid the house of a Midlands
0:14:25 > 0:14:28man believed to be receiving shipments from China,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32part of an operation targeting fake and unlicensed health products.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36We are visiting an address that is connected with the sale
0:14:36 > 0:14:42online of unlicensed hair loss products.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44The internet advertises creams,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48pills and other products that promise to reverse hair loss.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52The MHRA's branded almost all as fake.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55With the team in position, it's time to go in.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Test purchases reveal the products contain three times the legal
0:15:01 > 0:15:04limit of the active ingredient minoxidil.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08This could be extremely dangerous, especially if used by pregnant
0:15:08 > 0:15:13women, but sold online, the trade is completely unregulated.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15KNOCKS ON DOOR
0:15:15 > 0:15:18It's the police. Could you open the door, please?
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Officers enter together with police.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32They secure the suspects and begin hunting for dodgy hair loss
0:15:32 > 0:15:35products and anything connected with their sale.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39It's essential to stop this suspected illegal seller.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43He's no specialist, but he's thought to be selling powerful
0:15:43 > 0:15:45illegal medicines from his front room.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48It's being sold by someone from a residential address to
0:15:48 > 0:15:51basically anyone with a credit card.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55That makes it very unsafe for anybody to buy it, to use it,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58without any qualified instructions at all.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03It's not long before the team finds what it's been looking for.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07We've got quite a lot of stuff here.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11We've got the stuff we were looking for, which is
0:16:11 > 0:16:12the hair loss treatment.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16We've also got medicated versions of the shampoo.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Again, that's illegal.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22All of this stuff, we'll have to send off to the lab to get analysed to see
0:16:22 > 0:16:26what it actually contains and what the actual strength of this stuff is.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29The man will be interviewed at a later stage.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33An offence like this is very serious.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38The specific offences we're looking at today have a maximum
0:16:38 > 0:16:41penalty of two years' imprisonment and or an unlimited fine.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Later, Danny and his team visit a Midlands postal hub to
0:16:47 > 0:16:51intercept parcels stuffed full of fake drugs.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55This is a serious, serious health risk.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01And we meet the man who took counterfeit slimming pills.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Took three years for my liver to recover.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Earlier in our exclusive fake alcohol report, parents Brent
0:17:18 > 0:17:21and Pam Emmons described their horror as they discovered
0:17:21 > 0:17:25their daughter Cheznye had been fatally poisoned by fake gin
0:17:25 > 0:17:28in a popular backpacker town in Indonesia.
0:17:29 > 0:17:35Basically, her brain was dead and there was nothing else you could do.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38It just didn't seem fair.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44In the wake of the tragedy,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47dad Brent has decided to return to the country.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Three months after his daughter's death, he's travelling 8,000 miles
0:17:51 > 0:17:55to ensure police are doing everything they can to stop the sale
0:17:55 > 0:17:59of killer fake gin Mansion House to even more British travellers.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06In fact, there's no such thing as genuine Mansion House gin.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08What's on sale is a deadly mix of water
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and the chemical methanol, more commonly used in antifreeze.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17For Brent, this is bound to be an emotionally difficult trip,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21but he's determined to ensure that other travellers will be safe.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23I've now got a four-hour journey to Bukit Lawang
0:18:23 > 0:18:27where we've got to find the gin that poisoned my daughter.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34With the help of locals who met Cheznye, Brent tracks
0:18:34 > 0:18:38down the very shop which sold the fake booze that killed his daughter.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44This is the shop that they bought the gin from.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48I'm going to see what they've got for sale there now.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Brent's been assured by the police that the area is no longer
0:18:55 > 0:18:58selling the stuff, but within seconds of buying some beers,
0:18:58 > 0:19:03he's offered more lethal spirits - now being stored out the back.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07When the shopkeeper's son realises they're being filmed,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09the transaction stops.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Brent now visits another local shop.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21This time, the woman sells him the same fake gin that Cheznye drank,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Mansion House, proving that the lethal drink is still
0:19:24 > 0:19:27openly on sale to tourists and locals.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35It's exactly the same bottle that Cheznye and Joe bought
0:19:35 > 0:19:40and it works out about £3.20, which is nothing.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46I'm gutted really because I thought that they'd stopped selling it
0:19:46 > 0:19:50around here completely, but obviously not.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Potentially, this could kill somebody,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56kill somebody else's child, and they're still selling it.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Back home, Brent reflects on just what he found in Indonesia.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13I felt like going down and burning the bloody shop down myself,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16but obviously you're not going to do that
0:20:16 > 0:20:18because we want it done in the right way.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21But how these shops are still selling it... And they...
0:20:21 > 0:20:26The heartbreaking thing is they know that this is Russian roulette.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30They're potentially selling a bottle of poison to somebody.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31At a quick glance,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35the quality of the bottle would suggest that it's safe.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38If you really do look at it, you can tell the label's a bit skewiff,
0:20:38 > 0:20:44the hologram is not a very good one, and if you look at it carefully,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47there's a few bits and pieces floating about.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51But the scary thing is the top is very good, it's very well done,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53and you're a traveller on holiday,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57you're not going to study this bottle, are you?
0:21:02 > 0:21:05We sent the gin to be analysed at a test lab.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Scientists were looking for the presence of methanol,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12a cheap substitute for the ethanol found in normal alcoholic drinks.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26Not only was the gin fake, the levels were off the chart.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30The gin was like no other gin that I've ever seen before.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35It was only 4% alcohol, but the real problem was the methanol.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38It was almost 25% methanol by volume.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Methanol is very poisonous.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47The legal limit for methanol in gin is 10 grams
0:21:47 > 0:21:51per 100 litres of alcohol.
0:21:51 > 0:21:57We found 441,000 grams per 100 litres of alcohol.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01So you can see, it's 44,000 times the limit.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04That is most certainly not safe.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08It's unlikely fake gin this dangerous has ever been
0:22:08 > 0:22:10seen in Britain before.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14It could have horrific consequences for anyone drinking even
0:22:14 > 0:22:17the smallest amount.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21If you drank one shot of this particular gin, it would
0:22:21 > 0:22:23quite possibly make you blind.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28It would certainly have a very severe effect on your eyesight.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Depending on the person, because it is very variable,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34two doubles may kill you.
0:22:35 > 0:22:41You would definitely be killed by a large amount of this,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44say half of this bottle.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49I've never seen a gin with anywhere near as much methanol as this.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52It is definitely a shocking result.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55It's not a good idea that it's being sold to anybody.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59It would kill anybody that drank it.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Whilst Brent was in Indonesia,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11local police tracked down the source of the fake gin.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14They discovered an industrial operation.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18They closed down a warehouse that had
0:23:18 > 0:23:21over 5,000 bottles of fake alcohol in.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24They had arrested workers
0:23:24 > 0:23:27and the main man that owned the distillery was on the run.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33The illicit plant was flooding the popular tourist region,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36churning out fake whisky and vodka, as well as gin.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44They found a list containing the places that they distributed
0:23:44 > 0:23:49the fake spirits to
0:23:49 > 0:23:54and they listed shops, bars, clubs.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59So, you're not safe anywhere, really.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03As well as Cheznye, backpackers from Australia, Sweden
0:24:03 > 0:24:07and Ireland have all died from drinking fake alcohol in Indonesia.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14In 2009, 25 people were poisoned by methanol in Bali alone.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Brent and Pam Emmons are desperate for more awareness amongst
0:24:23 > 0:24:27British travellers about the perils of fake alcohol,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31particularly young backpackers visiting South East Asia.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Our family and friends have started a campaign.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39It's called Chez Safe A Life Campaign. You can get it on Facebook.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42We're lobbying the Government at the moment to try
0:24:42 > 0:24:46and get leaflets given out when the doctors give you inoculations
0:24:46 > 0:24:47when you go to these countries.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51If you know somebody that is going to these countries,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54or even surrounding countries, Thailand, Bali, all these
0:24:54 > 0:24:59other places, just say, "I've seen this programme," make them aware.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06If you think that the bottle doesn't look right,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09doesn't smell quite right,
0:25:09 > 0:25:10don't chance it.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Don't chance it, because it is one single drink, and that can kill you.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Coming up - HMRC investigators reveal
0:25:18 > 0:25:21the massive fake vodka factory
0:25:21 > 0:25:25here in the heart of one of the UK's busiest cities.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28These people cared nothing for the damage they might do.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38Getting yourself into serious debt must be one of the most
0:25:38 > 0:25:40worrying situations you can encounter.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43So imagine the relief when a company comes along
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and says they can sort it out for you
0:25:45 > 0:25:47and make that debt...disappear.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50When these fakers come into your life, though,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54you could end up with a debt problem that was worse than it was before.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Stuart Hughes has just finished the toughest case of his career.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Today, the Suffolk Trading Standards Officer
0:26:03 > 0:26:07has come to Ipswich Crown Court to hear the judge pass sentence
0:26:07 > 0:26:09on an extraordinary network of fakers.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14The case involves dozens of fake companies,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16money-laundering on an epic scale,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19and a powerful crime boss based in Spain.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27Originally, this case started on a very small scale.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31There was a handful of complaints, very few to start off with.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34These complaints centred on a number of different companies
0:26:34 > 0:26:37offering a fake debt elimination service.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42They gained access to lists of desperate, indebted people,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44and called them offering a service
0:26:44 > 0:26:46that promised to wipe away their debts.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50This man was one of their targets.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Still coming to terms with the trauma,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54he's asked to remain anonymous.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57He'd been made redundant, was heavily in debt,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00but thought he'd just been thrown a lifeline.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03I got a phone call during the day,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07and what they said was that the law had changed
0:27:07 > 0:27:08so it meant that credit cards
0:27:08 > 0:27:11that had been taken out before a certain date,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14you could get some refunds on them.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20The saleswoman sounded so convincing that the man paid
0:27:20 > 0:27:24almost £1,000 to have his debt written off.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27In reality, there'd been no change in the law
0:27:27 > 0:27:29and the offer to clear the debt was fake.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36I heard nothing for three or four weeks, so I contacted them
0:27:36 > 0:27:40and they said they were very busy. I left it for another few weeks.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42One day somebody picked the phone up
0:27:42 > 0:27:47and said that they were no longer trading from those premises
0:27:47 > 0:27:50and put the phone down, and that was the last I heard of them.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56When I found out that it was a con,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58it made me feel physically sick.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04More and more targets contacted Suffolk Trading Standards.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Some had paid over £3,000 to have their debts wiped away,
0:28:07 > 0:28:11but in each case the offer of financial assistance was fake
0:28:11 > 0:28:14and simply a means to take their money.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18One man's name, Mark Bell,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21cropped up again and again in the complaints.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Stuart tracked down the bank accounts of the suspected fraudster.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30We saw large amounts passing through the accounts,
0:28:30 > 0:28:32we're talking millions and millions of pounds,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34and we realised pretty quickly
0:28:34 > 0:28:36that this was a much larger, more elaborate fraud.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Following these large sums as they flowed out of Bell's account
0:28:41 > 0:28:45revealed a sophisticated money-laundering operation
0:28:45 > 0:28:48involving multiple fake shell companies.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51We just saw bank accounts that appeared to be purely
0:28:51 > 0:28:53pumping money in and pumping money out.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56It was typical of a money-laundering operation.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59The money all flowed to one place -
0:28:59 > 0:29:03into the account of a well-known British crime lord based in Spain.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09All this money led eventually to a man called Antoni Muldoon.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12Antoni Muldoon had been in Spain for around about 25 years.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17He had a strong reputation as someone who would set up companies
0:29:17 > 0:29:19that would be involved in frauds.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Stuart gathered as much evidence
0:29:22 > 0:29:25against Muldoon's empire as possible,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28collecting information from over 1,000 people.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31The full scale of the fakers' operation soon became clear.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Muldoon ran four Spanish call centres
0:29:36 > 0:29:39filled with British nationals who called people in the UK
0:29:39 > 0:29:43pretending to be from different debt elimination companies.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46The whole idea of these call centres was, basically,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49to peddle lies to UK consumers just to get them to pay money.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54It was time to take down the fakers.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00We went into ten domestic and business premises across the UK
0:30:00 > 0:30:04and several individuals were arrested and interviewed.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Amazingly, one of these people was a former policeman,
0:30:07 > 0:30:08Christopher Taylor.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12But the man at the centre of this massive fraud ring,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16Toni Muldoon, remained at large in Spain.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Antoni Muldoon, we knew, was at the helm of this fraud,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23and it was absolutely essential to make sure we got him back here.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27After months of negotiations,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30Spanish police swooped on the kingpin.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33He'd been happily splashing cash he'd stolen
0:30:33 > 0:30:36from thousands of people across the UK.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40He lived in a luxury villa,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43he had a ten-bedroom villa, which he'd purchased
0:30:43 > 0:30:45from some of the money involved in this fraud.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48He had a personalised gym, nice swimming pool,
0:30:48 > 0:30:52speedboats, yachts, fast cars...
0:30:53 > 0:30:58The fraud had netted Muldoon and his associates £5.7 million.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02The gang was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud
0:31:02 > 0:31:05and money-laundering at Ipswich Crown Court.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Today, Stuart's returned to the court
0:31:08 > 0:31:11to see the gang receive their sentences.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14The judge has passed sentence
0:31:14 > 0:31:17on seven of the individuals involved in this fraud.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20He's handed down significant sentences,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23over 30 years for all the defendants.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Antoni Muldoon was sentenced to over seven years
0:31:28 > 0:31:29for conspiracy to defraud.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32We're really pleased with that outcome.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35It's the conclusion, really, to three and a half years of very hard work.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45- KNOCKING - It's the police.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48Earlier, we saw the MHRA raid the house of a man
0:31:48 > 0:31:51suspected of selling dangerous hair loss products.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57This morning, head of enforcement Danny Lee-Frost and his team
0:31:57 > 0:31:59are at a postal hub in the Midlands.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04They've teamed up with the Border Force to intercept packages
0:32:04 > 0:32:09entering the UK which are suspected to contain dangerous fake medicines.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13They're concerned some of these counterfeit drugs
0:32:13 > 0:32:16may be getting into pharmacies.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18What we're looking at here is a parcel
0:32:18 > 0:32:20that's come off a flight from Hong Kong.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23It's a suspicious parcel, it rattles,
0:32:23 > 0:32:27there's an indication there's possibly blisters of tablets inside,
0:32:27 > 0:32:29so we're going to open it up and have a look.
0:32:33 > 0:32:34Oh, yes.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44What we have got here are blisters of tablets,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47clones of genuine Viagra.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Counterfeit erectile dysfunction drugs
0:32:50 > 0:32:52are a massive problem for the MHRA.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57Danny finds Cialis and two kinds of counterfeit Viagra.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Despite the convincing branding,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03there's no way of knowing what's inside these drugs.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07This is a serious, serious health risk to anybody who takes it.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11But there is a big incentive to deal in counterfeit medicines.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14The trade is making the fakers millions.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16There's a hell of a lot of tablets in this box.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18The box itself weighs 10 kilos,
0:33:18 > 0:33:22so we're looking at about 10,000 blisters in there.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26That's probably got a street value of anything between £50-£70,000.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Counterfeit medical tablets have previously been found
0:33:31 > 0:33:35to contain anything from amphetamines to brick dust.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Our overriding concern is could these products
0:33:39 > 0:33:43end up on a chemist shop shelf somewhere in the UK?
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Could somebody go along with a prescription from their doctor
0:33:46 > 0:33:47and end up with one of these?
0:33:51 > 0:33:54The suspect meds are tested on hi-tech machines
0:33:54 > 0:33:56bought with money seized in previous raids.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02All the medicines are fake.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06Then Danny discovers another dangerous product.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11This one is marketed for weight loss, but it's extremely unsafe.
0:34:13 > 0:34:14We have had these analysed.
0:34:14 > 0:34:19They do contain the active ingredient sibutramine.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Products containing sibutramine were withdrawn in 2010
0:34:22 > 0:34:26after it emerged that the chemical can cause heart attacks.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Anyone buying this thinking they're getting
0:34:28 > 0:34:31a legitimate product will be mistaken.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33It's illegal and dangerous.
0:34:33 > 0:34:39These shouldn't be sold. They claim they have natural plant ingredients.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Actually it's got a very powerful pharmaceutical ingredient in there,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46but nobody who takes it would actually know it's there.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49As obesity grows in the UK,
0:34:49 > 0:34:53people can look for an easy fix to control their weight,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56but fakers can prey on desperate individuals online
0:34:56 > 0:35:00by offering them an array of fake slimming products.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04They promise to be legitimate, effective and, above all, safe.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09These claims can be fake and the tablets can be very dangerous.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11As David Campbell found out.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13I was looking for that quick fix
0:35:13 > 0:35:15to either help me lose weight
0:35:15 > 0:35:17or help me, you know, cut my appetite.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22When David spotted a branded sports supplement online
0:35:22 > 0:35:26that promised to help him get in shape, he decided to buy it.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Something altogether different turned up,
0:35:29 > 0:35:31and it was to cost him his health.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33I bought a product which I thought
0:35:33 > 0:35:36was a sports product to deaden appetite.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40When the package arrived it was a plain white bottle.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44The instructions in the box were completely foreign.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Online it was just, "Take two of these before each meal,
0:35:47 > 0:35:50"your appetite will be completely suppressed."
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Despite them being unbranded, David took the pills.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57They made him seriously ill.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59He's now convinced they were counterfeits,
0:35:59 > 0:36:01not the branded product he'd ordered.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09I collapsed, taken to hospital, given loads of blood tests...
0:36:09 > 0:36:13Doctors told him what he'd taken included a large dose
0:36:13 > 0:36:16of potentially dangerous steroids.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19There were no steroids in the product advertised online.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23A specialist actually said to me,
0:36:23 > 0:36:28"If you don't stop taking these products you're buying online,
0:36:28 > 0:36:30"you'll be dead within five years."
0:36:32 > 0:36:34That really frightened me.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39It took three years for my liver to recover.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Constantly in and out of hospital, blood tests,
0:36:44 > 0:36:49I can't drink alcohol again, can't take painkillers any more
0:36:49 > 0:36:51because my liver is that much more sensitive
0:36:51 > 0:36:54because of that product that I bought online.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Back at the postal hub, the dangerous slimming product
0:37:00 > 0:37:02Danny has seized is loaded into a van,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05together with dozens of fake medicines.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10They're transported to the NHRA's secret storehouse.
0:37:10 > 0:37:16This van is absolutely chock-a-block full of counterfeit, unlicensed,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20fake, you-name-it medicines that are illegal.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23This will all now be booked into the store,
0:37:23 > 0:37:25then investigate where it was all going.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33The contents of the van are brought inside.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Amazingly, this is just one day's seizure of counterfeit
0:37:36 > 0:37:40and unlicensed medicines from one of the UK's many postal hubs.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Danny's message is clear.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45It's dangerous for people to buy their medicines online.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48You should only be buying them from reputable sources
0:37:48 > 0:37:52and, ideally, they should be going to see their doctor in the first place.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Earlier, we saw how British backpacker Cheznye Emmons
0:38:03 > 0:38:08died from methanol poisoning when she drank fake gin in Indonesia.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14But Britain itself is awash with dangerous counterfeit booze.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20Fake spirits are being manufactured in the heart of our cities
0:38:20 > 0:38:23to be sold in shops across the country.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30Adrian Farley is Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34His team suspected they'd found a fake vodka bottling plant
0:38:34 > 0:38:38when CCTV revealed tanks of liquid being unloaded from a truck
0:38:38 > 0:38:41coming and going from an industrial estate.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46They were about to discover one of the biggest fake booze operations
0:38:46 > 0:38:50ever seen in Britain, all in the heart of Birmingham.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55Intelligence led us to this set of premises,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57where we believed there was some
0:38:57 > 0:39:00illicit alcohol manufacturing taking place.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03So we arrived here one morning with the Fire Brigade,
0:39:03 > 0:39:06because we were most concerned about the risk of explosion.
0:39:06 > 0:39:11The fumes from this manufacturing process can be such
0:39:11 > 0:39:16that the chance of an explosion is very high.
0:39:16 > 0:39:21A mobile phone or one of our radios could ignite the fumes.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27When officers entered the premises, they couldn't believe their eyes.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32There was enough bottle caps to do over 60,000 bottles.
0:39:32 > 0:39:38There were 13 1,000-litre capacity bulk storage units.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40This was a commercial operation
0:39:40 > 0:39:43designed to flood the West Midlands area
0:39:43 > 0:39:46with this highly-dangerous substance.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Like the Indonesian fakers,
0:39:49 > 0:39:54the Birmingham gang had invented their own brand - Arctic Ice.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56And, like the Indonesians, they were filling the bottles
0:39:56 > 0:40:01with fake vodka, which was actually deadly methanol and water.
0:40:01 > 0:40:06Methanol is used for cleaning, it's used in soaps,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08it's used in printing inks and what-have-you.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11It is not meant for human consumption.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15This is something that was being produced simply to make people money
0:40:15 > 0:40:19with a total disregard for the effect on public health.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22The factory was located just yards
0:40:22 > 0:40:25from other businesses and a busy road.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29The idea of this being in a city environment like this
0:40:29 > 0:40:31is really outrageous.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37Had there been an explosion here, there would have been people killed.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40These people cared nothing for the damage that they might do.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46Adrian and his team shut down the plant immediately.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51The men involved were arrested, convicted and sentenced.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57But hundreds, maybe thousands of the bottles of fake vodka
0:40:57 > 0:41:00had already been sold in shops throughout the area.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05This man, Colin Gooch, bought two and drank them
0:41:05 > 0:41:07over a period of weeks.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11That's it, that's the shop I bought the fake vodka from.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14Closed now. Closed since sentencing.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Undoubtedly, I wasn't the only person to purchase fake booze
0:41:18 > 0:41:21from this particular establishment.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26The shop was a franchise of the national retailer Bargain Booze.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32Colin was alerted to the fact that the vodka was fake and dangerous
0:41:32 > 0:41:35when he read a warning in the local newspaper.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41He visited the doctor immediately, and was subjected to months
0:41:41 > 0:41:44of tests on his eyes, liver and other organs.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46You go to bed every night and close your eyes
0:41:46 > 0:41:49and you look round the bedroom and think, "I might not see this again."
0:41:49 > 0:41:52And it may sound dramatic, but it's not when you've been told
0:41:52 > 0:41:53you could wake up blind the next morning.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59Forensic analysis of the Arctic Ice showed dangerous levels of methanol.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02But Colin hasn't yet shown any signs of poisoning.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06However, he's concerned there may still be
0:42:06 > 0:42:10bottles of Arctic Ice out there, and others may not be so lucky.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13People are going into off-licences
0:42:13 > 0:42:17and small independent traders tonight and they're buying stuff,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20and do they know, can they put their hand on the heart and say,
0:42:20 > 0:42:23"I know where this has come from, I can vouch for its authenticity
0:42:23 > 0:42:27"and I know exactly what I'm drinking"?
0:42:27 > 0:42:29Bargain Booze issued a statement...
0:42:38 > 0:42:40But there are key things you can look out
0:42:40 > 0:42:44for to avoid buying a dangerous bottle of fake spirits.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Cost is a key.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Generally these products undercut.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Not by a large amount, but enough to raise people's suspicions.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57The labelling might not look right,
0:42:57 > 0:43:01and also if it's a name that they've never heard of before.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03If there are any concerns at all
0:43:03 > 0:43:06they should either contact ourselves or Trading Standards.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15That's all from Fake Britain. Goodbye.