Unrelenting team secured conviction of rogue toy trader

The Blackpool Council team’s case against Amazing Savings Ltd and its director Jonathan “Jonny” Kahn, 63, of Parkway, Golders Green, London, is believed to be the biggest in UK history.

It involved the import of hundreds of thousands of fake toys including Ninja Turtles and Spiderman action figures.

The importers provided toys to popular high street chains including B and M Bargains, TJ Morris Ltd, which runs Home Bargains, and Lewis Home Retail Ltd, which runs TJ Hughes, ripping off brands such as Marvel, Hasbro and Viacom.

On Wednesday a jury at Preston Crown Court returned a guilty verdict on guilty verdicts on a string of 34 trademark offences.

Coun Gillian Campell, praised the lengths the Blackpool team went to, including the seizure of thousands of boxes of toys.

She said: “In this particular case, our officers have been unrelenting in their approach to confiscating the fraudulent items, tracking a paper trail which led them to detaining rogue toys from Salford and London, all to uphold the law.

“Most other trading standards teams in the country would have baulked at the scale of the operation that was needed to end this selling of scam products, however this result today confirms my belief that our officers in Blackpool are among the most proactive in the country at protecting legitimate traders and consumers.”

The toys seized by Blackpool Council were kept at a secret location during the court case. So many packages were involved they were stacked six high in a resort warehouse.

Trading Standards officers said the fake toys were nearly impossible to distinguish from the real thing.

Judge Stuart Baker reserved the sentence to himself and will pass sentence on April 21.