Officials have closed down four traders on Manchester's 'counterfeit street' as part of a new crackdown on pedlars of fake goods.
Acting on a court order, police and council officials slapped closure orders on a row of units on Great Ducie Street in the Strangeways area of Manchester city centre, which for decades has been a centre for the trade in knock-off gear.
The four units, numbered 175, 177, 179 and 181, were known to trading standards officials for a 'long-standing association with criminal behaviour', according to Manchester City Council. READ MORE: The memorial to a murdered boy and his grieving mother - battered by the elements, but still standing on the bleak moors The sale of counterfeit goods and clothes 'has been traced back to' the dilapidated properties, covered in black-painted plywood, 'on numerous occasions', the council said in a statement.
The town hall also noted what passing motorists have seen for years, that 'spotters' were regularly seen outside the buildings and that the location is 'known to be a persistent source of anti-social behaviour'.
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