A Southall company director received a suspended jail term after trading standards seized £5million worth of fake designer goods in a major raid uncovering 18 tonnes of counterfeit luxury items.
A Southall-based company has found itself at the centre of a massive counterfeiting scandal after authorities discovered 18 tonnes of fake luxury items being sold under the guise of high-end fashion. The director behind the operation, Parvesh Virmani, has been sentenced to a suspended prison term following a significant raid that uncovered tens of thousands of counterfeit designer goods, dealing a heavy blow to both the fashion industry and local consumer trust.
The operation came to light in April 2023, when Ealing Council’s trading standards team, supported by the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, raided a warehouse belonging to Bling Master Company Limited. The unit, located at Charles House on Bridge Road, was being used to store and distribute fake versions of designer items from brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, and Calvin Klein.
In total, authorities seized an astonishing 53,000 items. These included imitation handbags, jewellery, perfumes, clothing, and shoes—all counterfeit versions of high-end labels. The estimated impact of these fakes on the fashion industry was said to be over £5 million in lost revenue.
According to industry figures, fake goods cost the UK economy more than £8.6billion in lost revenue, and at least 86,300 jobs are also lost as a result. That means counterfeiting deprives the country of much-needed tax revenue to spend on crucial public services.
At Isleworth Crown Court on 17 March 2025, Virmani, who resides on Brabazon Road in Hounslow and was the sole director of the now-defunct Bling Master Company Limited, was sentenced after pleading guilty to offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994. The court handed him an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid community work and attend a 15-day rehabilitation programme. Additionally, he must pay £1,200 in legal costs.
Judge and prosecutors made it clear that while the sentence was suspended, any future offences committed during the two-year window could see Virmani behind bars. The counterfeit goods, which were stored in bulk and poised for sale to unsuspecting consumers, will be destroyed.
The investigation highlighted the darker reality behind counterfeit goods, which are often assumed by consumers to be harmless copies. Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for decent living incomes, stressed the wider social and economic damage caused by such activities.
“Counterfeiters aim to deceive consumers into believing they are purchasing safe, high-quality products,” said Councillor Nagpal. “In reality, these goods have not been safety tested and can sometimes pose genuine risks. Buying fake goods may seem like a victimless crime, but it fuels organised crime, damages legitimate business, and deprives public services of vital tax revenue.”
The Anti-Counterfeiting Group, which represents over 3,000 brands affected by counterfeiting, worked closely with Ealing’s trading standards officers on the case. The group continues to warn of the increasing sophistication of fake goods entering the UK market, often sold through unauthorised street vendors or online platforms.
According to industry data, counterfeiting costs the UK economy approximately £8.6 billion annually and is linked to the loss of over 86,000 jobs. These staggering figures underscore the scale of the problem and the importance of enforcement efforts by local councils and trading standards teams.
Bling Master Company Limited, the business at the centre of the case, was formally dissolved in January 2024, following the raid and subsequent legal proceedings.
Ealing Council is encouraging residents to report any suspected sales of fake goods. Reports can be sent to the trading standards team via email at tradingstandards@ealing.gov.uk.
As this case shows, the seemingly small act of purchasing a counterfeit item supports a wider chain of illegal activities—one that authorities are determined to shut down.
