Seized items handed to charity

Following a planned partnership operation to disrupt sellers of concern at the Wellington Car Boot sale in Peterborough recently, many non-legitimate sellers were asked to surrender goods to officers from Regulatory Services, Peterborough Police and the City centre teams.

Over 675 items with an approximate sale value of over £10,000 that were surrendered or abandoned on the site were removed by officers with the full cooperation of licence holders.

Items seized included confectionary, cosmetics, chocolates, coffee, laundry detergents, deodorants, sanitary products, face cream and bathroom products.

Ordinarily these items would all be destroyed following such an operation, but many of the products were found to be legitimate and safe to use.

To help ensure that the seized items could be put to good use, officers donated them to Care Zone in Peterborough, a charity which helps vulnerable families to access household goods and furniture.

Councillor Alison Jones, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “The operation demonstrated our commitment to zero tolerance for rogue traders and the disadvantages they place on local legitimate businesses and residents at risk of buying a non-traceable item which may be linked to criminality.

“In this case, I’m delighted that the items seized have been donated to charity and will benefit families in need in our communities. I would like to thank everyone involved with this.

“The partnership and Police and Regulatory Services in particular across the Environmental Heath, Trading Standards and Licensing teams will continue to focus on non-legitimate traders across our city in whatever form they present to ensure Peterborough is a safer place to shop, live and visit.”

Inspector Sam Tucker, from the Peterborough City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We have been working closely with partner agencies to tackle shoplifting, following particular concerns around the sale of stolen goods at the Wellington Street car boot sale.

“Since the start of the year we have seized tens of thousands of pounds worth of suspected stolen goods from across the city centre, and this is the second time in the last few weeks that a large amount of goods have been donated to a local charity.

“Our work to tackle retail crime across the city will continue through regular patrols of the areas most affected, as well as working closely with businesses and partner agencies to identify offenders and put them before the courts.”