Fake Labubu toys
Barnet Council’s Trading Standards team has seized nearly £70,000 worth of illicit toys, vapes, Viagra and other products in their latest raid on the borough’s dangerous dealers.
The haul included a total of 68,700 cigarettes worth £49,807.50, 13.25kg of hand-rolling tobacco worth £11,487.75, 260 vapes worth £1,300, and 83.1kg of shisha tobacco worth £4,154.17. The team also uncovered a market for illicit male sexual enhancement supplements, which included 19 Viagra tablets and seven pills of more questionable origin.
Perhaps most worryingly, the crew came across 37 fake Labubu toys. Labubu toys, when genuine, are collectible items worth lots of money. But when counterfeit, they are not made to the same safety standards – the doll’s head can be easily pulled off, revealing a choking hazard that could harm a child.
Cllr Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “This trade is despicable and does nothing but harm to our society. The businesses that deal in illegal goods, like these, damage the health of our adults and, worst of all, put our children at risk. If you know of a shop or other trading outlet that’s putting your local community at risk, please tell us about it.”
The raid was conducted on four businesses in: East Barnet Road; Vivian Avenue, Hendon; Hendon Way (A41); Station Road, Edgware. The total value of the illicit products seized was £67,487.42 and the operation also involved the Met Police and sniffer dogs.
The raid was one of many that have been and continue to be carried out by the Barnet Council Trading Standards team.
To report a Barnet business that you suspect of trading in illicit goods, visit: www.barnet.gov.uk/tradingstandards