The whole enterprise came to a halt after a pensioner reported Bellchambers to the Trading Standards Institute after not receiving a full refund for some tat he had tried to sell to her. The TSI then leapt into action and started Operation Augusta to try and catch Bellchambers and his cronies in the act.
The operation was a success and seven people were arrested. Bellchambers (below) was jailed for four years and three months with his bookkeeper Keith Thomas getting 16 months after they admitting conspiracy to sell or distribute fake goods. A third man, Roy Cottee received 12 months after being found guilty of the same charge with four others receiving suspended sentences.
Bill Adams, Havering Council principle trading standards officer, said: "We are pleased that this gang have got what they deserved. They made millions of pounds from their operation, selling tens of thousands of fake clubs to people all over the world. Each customer was ripped off by up to £100 per club.
"I've been an investigator for 35 years and never heard of such a massive counterfeiting operation - it was of a scale that has never been seen before."
As I said when I first posted about this, I had a picture of a Del Boy Trotter character, a lovable rogue selling hooky gear from a shed but the truth of the matter is that Bellchambers and his team brought more than six tons of golf equipment into the United Kingdom from Asia before selling it for a massive profit.
Here is another thing, because they have brought so much second rate rubbish into the country it is almost certain that there will still be an awful lot of it doing the rounds on eBay. Keep that in mind the next time you see that ‘too good to miss’ Odyssey Two-Ball putter or TaylorMade R7 driver.
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