Dangerous skin lightening creams that can cause cancer have been discovered at Gatwick Airport.

A quarter of a tonne of the cosmetics were seized by the UK Border Force in August after arriving on a flight from Cameroon.

They were described as “personal effects” to try and avoid detection.

West Sussex Trading Standards officers attended and sent samples for safety testing.

“This is the second seizure of illegal skin lightening creams from Cameroon which may suggest an increase in importation of these products from the country into the UK.

“We are actively engaged in border controls which includes identifying consignments for importers who have previously imported unsafe or non-compliant goods before.”

Peter Aston, Trading Standards Team Manager

Results showed that three of the products contained the potentially carcinogenic substance hydroquinone.

All the products seized were incorrectly labelled. None of the products could be legally sold in the UK.

Investigations are continuing to find out whether the importer is already known to their local Trading Standards service.

Source: spiritfm.net