Monmouthshire trading standards officers, in partnership with colleagues from Slough Borough Council and a representative of automotive technical information suppliers, Autodata, have assisted in a carefully planned operation resulting in the arrest of a prolific counterfeit software seller.
They were supported by officers from Southampton’s trading standards service and Hampshire Police.
The suspect had been touring the UK for a number of months using assorted hire cars and travelling over 20,000 miles selling large quantities of counterfeit Autodata products and other vehicle repair software. Monmouthshire trading standards officers first discovered the potentially dangerous goods earlier this year and a subsequent investigation lead to the suspect’s arrest at a south coast car hire depot on 19th September while returning a vehicle.
A large amount of cash, a number of electronic devices and quantities of suspect discs were found in his possession and were confiscated for examination by enforcement officers.
The smoothly executed swoop and arrest brought about a satisfactory conclusion after several months of intense cross border investigation by trading standards officers.
Team Leader for Monmouthshire’s Trading Standards service, Gareth Walters said: “Information indicated there was a brief window of opportunity to execute the arrest. The professionalism of all agencies involved is a fine example of cross border collaboration and we very much appreciate their work and perseverance.”
