Teacher mastermind, 29, behind £240,000 pirate football kit market spared jail after judge admits he is 'alive to the particular problems of prison overcrowding at this time'

A teacher who created a £240,000 trafficking racket in pirate football kits has been spared jail after a judge decided the prisons were too full to lock him up.

Arabic tutor Ahmed Hafeji, 29, from Bolton, Greater Manchester ordered huge hauls of counterfeit clothing from Nike, Adidas, and Puma tops, from China to sell on at discounts prices online. 

Shirts included fakes featuring the names of Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, as well as others like Paris St Germain, and Southampton.

Over a seven year period the father of one who teaches Arabic to pupils in a primary school sold around 12,000 bootlegged items for as little as £20 a time - a quarter of the price charged by the manufactures for the genuine article.

Some of his clients were other dealers who would buy up to 100 discount kits at a time then sell them on the black market.

Hafeji who is also described as a learning coach and who also teaches children at a local academy was caught following an operation by detectives from the North West Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU).

Investigators ordered a fake shirt from his social media page 'Hafe's Kit Central' then raided his property in Bolton, Greater Manchester where he lives with his data analyst wife and his parents. One cache of fake football kits arrived at the house as officers were searching inside.

When quizzed Hafeji said he had been buying the kit for himself and his family but then upscaled his operation when friends found out about his 'side hustle' and asked if he could place orders for them.

At Bolton Crown Court, Hafeji admitted a charge of 'selling goods bearing a registered trademark without consent of the proprietor' between 2016 and 2023. He faced up to two years in jail under sentencing guidelines but was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to complete 240 hours community work.

His savings account containing £68,000 has since been frozen and all the money is expected to be seized at a Proceeds if Crime hearing next year. Investigators also had the banks accounts frozen of Hafeji's wife her brother and even her parents s part of the probe.

Sentencing Judge Nicholas Clarke KC said: 'There was clearly a degree of planning and organisation and it could be argued he had a leading role. 

'It was lengthy and protracted involvement in an illicit trade and these sorts of activities undermine the value of legitimate trademarks.

'It is well known that those who purchase kits for their children will ultimately be disappointed when they find they have in fact been purchasing counterfeit goods.

'But I am alive to the particular problems of prison overcrowding at this time and the problems it causes for all of those within the prison estate.'

The inquiry began in April last year when officers launched an operation into the sales of counterfeits football kits across the UK using social media accounts. 

They were tipped off by officials from Puma who said a parcel containing fake shirts was on its way to the UK. The package was intercepted, found to be addressed to Hafeji.

Undercover investigators later carried out a test purchase from a social media site run by Hafeji and were told delivery would take two weeks. When nothing arrived they messaged the seller who said there were issues with courier services as some items has been seized.

Mr Gurdip Singh prosecutors said the package eventually arrived and the sellers asked the investigators for payment to be made to Hafeji's bank account. A warrant was later executed at Hafeji's address and he was arrested. 

As officers were arresting him, there was a knock on the door from a delivery service and a further 19 counterfeit football kits were delivered.'

Police estimated the total loss to the sports industry was £240,561.51 with Hafej getting average orders of £73 a time which included multiple fake items. 

One buyers ordered 66 items and another 98. The court heard other buyers thought they were getting genuine shirts.

Inquiries revealed one bank account kept by Hafeji fielded £25,000 in 12 months. The money was then transferred into a Barclays savings account which took unexplained deposits of £170,632 over six years. 

His phone was interrogated and it emerged between September 2018 and May 2023 he ordered 2,786 counterfeit football strips, 189 fake tracksuits and 88 other counterfeit sporting items.

Hafeji was interviewed and was said to have provided 'frank admissions' revealing his busiest period was Christmas. He claimed he only made £5 per transactions but investigators concluded he made 'substantially more.'

Earlier in mitigation defence counsel Miss Gabriele Watts said: 'It didn't start out as a huge money making operation. He had been ordering shirts for himself and his family when his friends started to find out and asked for him to put in a few orders for them. Matters then went on from there.'

She added: 'He is at a low risk of re-offending and is truly remorseful. He was naive to a certain degree to the true consequences and scale of his actions He is truly sorry and held his hands up from the start.

'This is the first time he has been involved ion the court system and he is absolutely terrified of going to prison. 

'This has had a huge impact on his family and his actions have been fully felt financially throughout the family which he has naturally has found very difficult.

'He has a very close knot family and lives with his wife, young son and parents. He cares for his father who has arthritis and diabetes and it falls on him to take him to medical appointments. This has had an impact on his relationship with his wife and also his elderly parents who feel ashamed at what's happened.

'He is a hard working individual working as a learning coach who takes children for classes and helps them with learning difficulties and behavioural matters. He is also a designated safe guarding leader and is a very trusted and responsible individual within the school - and he leads on pastoral care.

'He is currently undertaking a teacher training course to get professional qualifications. The school are aware of the situation but they also appreciate the full impact and very valuable contribution he has made to the school.

'My understanding is he will be allowed to continue his position within the school - but that could change were he be sentenced to immediate custody which would completely derail his currently promising future career. He is ashamed of what he has done.'

After the case PCe James Davies from the NWROCU's Intellectual Property Crime Unit said: 'Hafeji operated an illegal business online and in his local community, selling fake football shirts he imported from China, knowing full well it was unlawful to do so'.

'We urge football fans to think twice before buying these counterfeit goods.. Whatever savings you think you're making when buying these goods are often offset by their poor quality and the risks that come from using a product that has been manufactured illegally. The sale of counterfeit goods also diverts funds away from the clubs you support and into the hands of criminals, preventing re-investment.'