Hundreds of pounds worth of bootleg Hollywood blockbusters were seized by Sutton Trading Standards over the weekend following an unannounced swoop on a car boot sale. A joint operation involving trading standards officers from Sutton Council’s Business Regulation Service and officers from Sutton Police targeted the car boot sale at St Philomena’s Catholic High School on Sunday (11 May).

Officers seized 182 pirated DVDs of hit films – including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Aviator and Will Smith’s After Earth. Sellers had all counterfeit DVD’s seized and were provided with a timely warning and advice on how to stay within the law in the future.

Mary Morrissey, Strategic Director Environment and Neighbourhood at Sutton Council said: “Counterfeit merchandise is not a good deal. It is often of inferior quality and harm the trade of legitimate businesses. We believe in a fair borough for our residents and businesses, It is simply not acceptable that people are exposed to these dodgy dealers. This swoop has sent a clear message that we won’t tolerate illegal trade.”

Inspector Emma Gulczynski at Sutton Police said: “We would urge the public to please come forward if you have information about people trading in bogus goods or where such goods are being stored or sold. We work closely in partnership with Sutton’s Trading Standards and will continue to take joint action against the culprits. In addition; for those people that chose to use these car boot sales as an outlet to sell stolen goods; you should be aware that we will use these partnership operations as an opportunity to target you”.

“If you have information that could help, please call Sutton police station on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Trading Standards wrote to car boot sales organisers earlier this year to advise them of the law and warn that officers will be visiting their sales from time to time throughout the year.

For people thinking of selling at car boots, Trading Standards can supply an advice pack on the law. Call 020 8770 5070 or email trading.standards@sutton.gov.uk to ask for a copy

For anyone buying, the advice is be careful. If the price looks too good to be true on normally expensive items, it probably is. A simple check with DVD’s on the quality of the artwork, holograms that do not work, artwork on the DVD’s themselves and the professional packaging is an easy way to identify the sham items.