Five men were today being questioned by police and Trading Stand-ards officers after an undercover raid on a popular Bradford market.

Officers seized £25,000 worth of counterfeit designer clothes in yesterday's swoop on Cannon Mills, as part of a new crackdown on illegal trading.

A team, including undercover police from the Odsal division and West Yorkshire Trading Standards officers, raided the market at 10.15am.

Market exits were sealed off and several stalls and vans searched.

Five stallholders were arrested and taken to Bradford Central police station for questioning.

The men, from Lancashire and Derby, are alleged to have been selling fake designer jumpers, jeans and jackets at the market off Great Horton Road.

If charged and convicted they could face up to ten years in jail - the maximum penalty for supplying or possessing counterfeit goods.

Now officers say they will continue with similar undercover operations in the region.

And they are encouraging shoppers to give them information about traders and suppliers.

Acting Inspector Ian Dellow, of Odsal police, who co-ordinated the operation, said it had been a huge success.

He said: "Five people were arrested and £25,000 worth of goods seized, but if these items had been genuine, they would have been worth £100,000.

"It's important that Trading Standards, backed up by the police, put a stop to this sort of practice.

"We're protecting the customers from being duped into buying sub-standard products and then not having any rights if they want to take them back.

"We're also protecting the manufacturers of the genuine items in the region and their staff."

A West Yorkshire Trading Standards officer, who cannot be named, said: "The raid was a success and we seized bags full of counterfeit clothes."

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