A Bromley-by-Bow man has been sentenced for his involvement in the sale of thousands of counterfeit clothing items.

Pathum Percy Ponweera Arachchige Don, 36, of Talwin Street, was one of three people who earned hundreds of thousands of pounds in total from their illegal activities.

They were linked to an eBay account called FANCY_INDEX, which was served with a cease-and-desist notice from a legitimate brand in March 2017 for selling counterfeit items. 

FANCY_INDEX changed its name to TRUE.STYLES before resuming the sale of counterfeit luxury underwear in July 2017, City of London Police said.

Officers in the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit found that from October 2015 to August 2017, sales from the eBay account totalled around £394,000.

It was made through the sale of 18,567 pieces of counterfeit underwear, and 8,107 counterfeit t-shirts.

From December 2015 to December 2017, the seller made 95 payments, which totalled £377,000, into two bank accounts. One was owned by Bashir Elsawahli and the other owned by Guncha Elsawahli, both of Fleetwood, Letchworth Garden City.

A number of transfers totalling more than £125,000 were made to 'Pathum Don' and 'Disni Don'.

Police executed two search warrants in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, on December 19 2017 and arrested Bashir Elsawahli.

They seized 2,383 counterfeit garments and Bashir Elsawahli’s mobile phone and laptop, which further linked him to Don.

In September 2023, Don was found guilty of the unauthorised use of a trademark after trial.

Bashir and Guncha Elsawahli pleaded guilty to the unauthorised use of a trademark and transferring criminal property.

The trio were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on November 10, 2023.

Don, 36, received a 21-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Bashir Elsawahli, 44, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Guncha Elsawahli, 45, was given a 12-month community order, and must complete 75 hours of unpaid work.

Det Con Geoff Holbrook said: “Despite being aware that selling fake goods to the public is against the law, Pathum Don, Bashir Elsawahli and Guncha Elsawahli continued to operate an illegal business.

“They went to great lengths to try and disguise the source of their income by transferring sums of cash through various bank accounts.

“We had a large amount of evidence that showed they had earned hundreds of thousands of pounds from an illegal activity.”