Police seize 25,000 fake Covid masks in north-east raid

Police say they seized 25,000 counterfeit face masks from a house and a storage unit in Dyce last week.

An investigation began following intelligence that counterfeit face masks were coming into the UK from Hong Kong.

Two large consignments were originally found at East Midlands Airport and an address in Essex.

Officers subsequently attended the home of a 22-year-old man and the storage unit.

The man was interviewed under caution.

Police believe the masks were going to be advertised as medical-grade and sold online.

Detective sergeant Ceri Hunt, from the City of London Police, who lead the investigation said: "Selling a fake face mask under the pretence it will keep the user safe and help stop the spread of coronavirus during a global public health crisis, shows the total disregard fraudsters have for people’s lives.

"The swift, joined-up action taken by police, Border Force and our partners across the globe, shows there are no boundaries to our work in fighting intellectual property crime and protecting the public."

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