Police have busted another counterfeit shop where shopkeepers had locked customers inside “against their will”.

On Friday January 6, at around 2pm, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers acting under Operation Vulcan were alerted to another counterfeit shop on Moulton Street, Strangeways.

GMP says the shop keepers had locked members of the public in against their will whilst they ran off with the keys in an attempt to escape.

Officers arrested one of the ‘spotters’ - who had alerted the shop keepers of the police presence - and located a key fob to the shop.

READ MORE: Cheetham Hill counterfeit shop raided as customers trapped inside

However, the shutters had deliberately been disabled from the inside and there was no way of getting in or out easily.

Officers had to break down the shutters to get inside, where they found 12 people locked including a young child.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and trademark offences. They remain in police custody for questioning.

Inspector Andrew Torkington, one of Operation Vulcan’s specialist officers said: “This was a dangerous and unsettling situation we encountered. The owners of the shop had disabled the shutters and locked the customers inside, all in an effort to stop police finding and seizing their counterfeit items.

Today's top story: In the dock: 7 Bury cases dealt with by magistrates

“Had we not been able to get inside the shop, who knows how long the members of the public would have been stuck inside before the owners braved returning.

“Counterfeiting is a crime, which is why the shop keepers are so desperate to avoid police detection.

“These clothes are of dubious, often dangerous quality, manufactured in filthy and appalling conditions. They’re being shipped to the UK where fake logos are applied by staff who are forced to work in exploitative conditions.

“They are then sold across shops in Cheetham Hill, which, as we’ve mentioned before, these buildings are structurally unsafe, littered with rat urine and faeces, and manned by shopkeepers who have weapons stashed.

READ MORE:  Uninsured driver was 'carrying offensive weapon'

“Operation Vulcan has been set up to disrupt every level of criminality in this area. We are less than one week into 2023 and this is the second largescale store that we will empty, close, and prosecute those responsible.

“Cheetham Hill and Strangeways will no longer be synonymous with counterfeit goods.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at lewis.finney@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @lewisfinney18.