Overview
- Edinburgh Trading Standards, working with Police Scotland and National Trading Standards, seized about 58,000 suspected fake shirts after buying samples from a website and having tests confirm they were counterfeit.
- The goods weighed more than nine tonnes and have an estimated street value of about £5.5 million, with a large share of England and Scotland kits alongside shirts for France, Spain and Portugal.
- Officers recovered the stock from a planned raid at an Edinburgh address and moved the items into secure storage while brand holders confirm the counterfeits.
- Authorities and industry groups warned the shirts are often low quality, can bypass safety testing, may contain harmful dyes or be highly flammable, and therefore pose direct risks to buyers.
- Police Scotland and national teams are tracing supply routes and ownership while a single media report linking the consignment to a Chinese entity remains unverified and the items are expected to be securely recycled once brands complete checks.