A petrol station owner has been ordered to pay more than £7,000 for selling fake cigarettes.
Manickavasgar Kirupananthan, the owner of the Total Bargoed Service Station at Gwerthnor Place in Bargoed, was prosecuted for supplying counterfeit Benson and Hedges Gold cigarettes.
Kirupananthan was investigated by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards after a smoker bought a pack and realised the taste was not right. One of the cigarettes also burnt his lip because of the high burning temperature.
Trading Standards Officers visited the premises and found 120 packs of the cigarettes either on display or in storage. The packs displayed had a large offer sticker stating they were £4.75 for a pack of 20 – they usually sell at around £6.96.
Kirupananthan maintained the cigarettes had been bought from a legitimate cash and carry. Investigations by Trading Standards showed that the business had not purchased Benson and Hedges Gold 20s from its usual supplier since July 2010 – the offences were discovered in September 2010.
During the case, Kirupananthan’s barrister Joe Al-Khayat, told the court the defendant owned a total of ten petrol stations in the London area, South West of England and the one in Bargoed.
Kirupananthan admitted five charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994 at Abergavenny Magistrates’ Court on January 12,
He was fined a total of £6,250 and ordered to pay costs to the local authority of £787.
Cllr Rob Gough, cabinet member for public protection said: “Offences such as this have a real impact not only upon legitimate retailers but also most importantly upon unsuspecting consumers.
“The fact that these cigarettes were produced in an uncontrolled environment could have posed a serious injury and safety risk. I am therefore pleased that the court has emphasised the seriousness of the offences in the fine it imposed.”
To find out more about the work of Trading Standards in Caerphilly County Borough, visit www.caerphilly.gov.uk or call 01495 235 291.
So is he the only one, or is this part of a large scam?.