Fake Liverpool and Manchester United shirts were seized

PSNI officers and their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland helped provide information which led to the raid of a factory in Turkey which was producing fake football tops.

Turkish police found quantities of Manchester United and Liverpool tops, which were believed to have been destined for the Irish market.

It is the second time this year that police on both sides of the Irish border have helped shut down a Turkish factory producing millions of pounds worth of fake clothing.

Head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Serious and Organised Crime Squad, Detective Superintendent Andy Sproule, said he was delighted with the results.

"This has been a very successful operation and an excellent example not only of cross-border policing on island of Ireland but of international policing," he said.

"To see the seizing of counterfeit goods is very satisfying for police officers.

"Preventing counterfeit goods from being manufactured means there are fewer fake goods on the streets and less chance of consumers purchasing substandard and illegal products."

Sweat

An illegal racket was smashed earlier this year after the Turkish authorities, acting on intelligence from detectives in Dublin and Belfast, shut down a factory in Istanbul.

Detectives followed a trail from warehouses storing goods close to the Irish border to the manufacturing source in Turkey.

The buildings at Carrickarnon in County Louth were used to store imitation jeans, football tops and sweat shirts.

Police said the factory was owned by a business person from Northern Ireland.

Irish detectives seized more than �1m worth of counterfeit goods.

The fake designer clothing was destined for Belfast and Dublin, according to police.

Officers seized more than 100,000 items of counterfeit goods, including soccer shirts.