Parents warned over danger of fake 'Frozen' dolls
Hundreds of fake dolls based on the hit Disney film Frozen which were destined for Christmas stockings across the UK were seized by border police today.
The rip-off toys, which included dolls of Princesses Elsa and Anna complete with fake Disney packaging, were discovered when officers at the port of Dover raided a cargo ship arriving from China.
Police said that the toys were part of a haul of thousands of potentially lethal products destined for the UK Christmas market seized from the ship.
The blockbuster movie netted nearly £1bn worldwide, making it the highest grossing animation of all time, and created a lucrative market for official merchandise which has been targeted by Chinese smugglers.
Alongside the 426 Frozen dolls officers found 1,400 fake Peppa Pig toys which were leaking an unidentified chemical and 3,000 potentially lethal sets of Christmas, which were not properly insulated and could have caused electric shocks.
In all nearly 170,000 items were sent back to China after discussions with the importer.
Kent County Council's trading standards manager Mark Rolfe said the seizure was one of the biggest hauls ever confiscated.
"Not surprisingly, it was a very time-consuming task for our officers to go through the consignments and examine samples of every product.
"After inspecting all the items and carrying out necessary tests, some of them, such as gloves, vanity cases, bracelets and picture frames, were allowed into the EU.
"Some of the items we seized were clearly potentially dangerous and likely to be aimed at the Christmas retail market. We are pleased that we were able to protect the public from these shoddy goods and prevent any injuries they might have caused.
"They may or may not have been dangerous but without the necessary technical documentation my officers are unable to properly assess their safety and as such the goods are not permitted entry for free circulation within the EU.
"Either way, they will not be entering the UK for sale here."
Paul Morgan, Director of Border Force South East and Europe said: "Some of the items we seized were clearly potentially dangerous and likely to be aimed at the Christmas retail market.
"Border Force is determined to prevent counterfeiting and we have officers working 24 hours a day at ports, airports and mail sorting centres identifying fake goods before they reach the streets.
"Counterfeit goods cause damage to legitimate businesses and traders and they leave customers out of pocket with inferior and possibly dangerous products."
"We will continue to work closely with Kent Trading Standards and the public can play their part in disrupting the trade by ensuring they only buy from genuine retailers.