Police have seized more than 25,000 counterfeit face masks as part of a UK-wide operation.
Officers from City of London Police launched an investigation after Border Force received a tip that the fake masks were being shipped from Hong Kong.
The first of two batches, both bound for the Granite City, were found at East Midlands Airport and Stanford Le-Hope.
As a result, police from London and the North West along with local officers raided a 22-year-old man’s home and a storage unit in Dyce last month.
A total of 25,000 counterfeit face masks were found at the addresses.
It is believed that the masks were going to be sold online as medical grade equipment.
Detective Sergeant Ceri Hunt, who led the investigation, said: “Selling a fake face mask under the pretense it will keep the user safe and help stop the spread of coronavirus during a global public health crisis, shows the total disregard fraudsters have for peoples’ lives.
“The swift, joined-up action taken by police, Border Force and our partners across the globe, shows there are no boundaries to our work in fighting intellectual property crime and protecting the public.”
Detective Superintendent Paul Denn, from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “We’re really pleased with the results and glad that our action has helped to put a stop to these ruthless criminals who were trying to a make profit from selling counterfeit medical masks during a global pandemic. Not only is it damaging to the economy but it would have been extremely dangerous if these substandard goods had of made it out for public consumption.”
The man was interviewed under caution and has been released pending further investigation.