TWO PEOPLE HAVE been arrested in Ballymena and cars seized as part of a PSNI investigation into counterfeit car parts.

The 47-year-old man and 44-year-0ld woman are being held at Ballymena police station for questioning.

A Porsche and BMW were seized, as were items believed to be counterfeit products for auto brands Audi, Mercedes, Porsche and BMW, including key fobs, badges and wheel caps.

Detective Inspector Todd Clements, from the PSNI’s organised crime branch, said:

Following a complaint from a car manufacturer, police have searched properties in Ballymena, Portstewart and Belfast. Officers have seized a significant amount of what we believe are counterfeit car products being sold online in a business with a substantial turnover.

Clements said that the market for car products for these brands “runs into millions of pounds” and any attempts to subvert that market through the sale and supply of counterfeit products “are jeopardising jobs and reducing company profits”.

“We are also in the process of obtaining restraint orders on a house in the Galgorm area of Ballymena and two properties in Portstewart and a number of bank accounts,” Clements added.