Counterfeit clothing seller caught flogging designer knockoffs for £5

Aiva Sarapnicka of Johnsville Avenue, Blackpool, received the four month curfew at Blackpool Magistrates Court on 14 June after Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards officers discovered her selling counterfeit clothing at Norcross Car Boot sale in Thornton Cleveleys in May 2022.

On 29 May, officers attended came across a stall selling suspected counterfeit clothing, footwear and bedding.

An officer, posing as a member of the public, was able to purchase a 'North Face' branded T-shirt for £5 from Aiva Sarapnicka, which was subsequently confirmed to be counterfeit

A short while later the officers seized all the suspected counterfeit items from the stall and from inside a vehicle parked behind the stall. More than 600 items of clothing, footwear and bedding were seized, included items bearing brand names and logos such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Adidas and Nike.

Samples were examined by trademark representatives and confirmed to be unauthorised copies and infringed the relevant trademarks.

Aiva Sarapnicka later responded to written interview questions under caution.

She said that due to her language barrier she had asked her friend to order the items for her from suppliers in Turkey and she gave him the money to pay for it.

She accepted that the items seized on the car boot were her property and said that she had been charging £20 for tracksuits, £20 for trainers, and £5 for the T-shirts.

She said she had bought cheap so she could sell cheap, but that she didn't do any research into the cost of genuine products and hadn't done any checks on whether these items were or not.

The District Judge ordered a curfew between 8pm and 7am as well as  awarding a  contribution to the local authority costs of £500 and a victim surcharge of £95 along with the forfeiture  of all of the clothing was ordered.

Speaking after the case, Angela Lomax, Trading Standards manager at Lancashire County Council said: "Earlier this week, we reported that our Trading Standards officers had prosecuted for counterfeit tobacco products, and this case involved counterfeit clothing.

"We will not allow traders to sell counterfeit goods in Lancashire and hope these cases show how serious we are about tackling illegal sales.

"If you buy counterfeit goods, you are helping the trader to break the law. The money you’ve spent can even end up funding other forms of organised crime such as drug dealing.

"You’re also contributing to job losses because genuine retailers are unable to match prices charged by rogue traders. The cheap prices paid are often reflected in the poor quality of the goods bought and as a result this seller has lost her liberty, having to observe a curfew between the hours of 8pm and 7am for the next four months."