UK man jailed again for clothing counterfeiting

A UK man jailed in 2010 for selling counterfeit clothing has been sent back to prison after failing to pay back £5.4m ($8.6m) in illicit proceeds.

Banti Sohal had already been convicted of selling fake copies of Nike, Ecko, Timberland and Henri Lloyd clothing, amongst others, and was given a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence.

In 2010, £6m-worth of the counterfeits were seized by Birmingham Trading Standards officers in a raid on a warehouse in 2010, which remains the largest-ever seizure of its type in the UK.

Sohal has been sent back to prison for four years after failing to pay back £5.4m forfeited under the UK proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). At the time of his first sentencing just £350,000 in assets had been secured.

The presiding judge in the case said he had no choice but to incarcerate Sohal as he had failed to provide information on his assets.

At the time of Sohal's first sentencing, Birmingham City Councils head of Trading Standards - Chris Neville - said the operation's "sheer scale and audacity was astounding".

Sohal had attempted to continue his activities while awaiting trial, as containers were stopped by customs and excise at ports.