An Ystrad Mynach man has been prosecuted by Caerphilly Trading Standards after he sold cheap contaminated fuel.
Andrew Mackenzie, 45, of Coopers Terrace, Ystrad Mynach was in charge of Antelope Green Fuels Ltd, based in Dyffryn Business Park in Ystrad Mynach at the time the offences were committed in July 2013.
A Trading Standards investigation was launched after it was claimed that diesel being sold for £1.25 per litre from the premises was genuine fuel.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) visited the site together with officers from Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team, and found two large fuel tanks containing what purported to be duty-paid white diesel.
Checks showed however that the fuel contained large amounts of kerosene, and as a result HMRC seized and removed a total of 2,800 litres of fuel – 900 litres of the contaminated fuel, 990 litres of red diesel and 820 litres of kerosene.
Mackenzie appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court recently charged with a number of offences contrary to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Weights and Measures Act 1985.
He pleaded guilty to offences of using measuring equipment that had not been stamped as fit for use for trade, using measuring equipment that was unjust, a misleading omission that fuel supplied as white diesel contained rebated kerosene and gas oil, and a misleading action in that a false white diesel statement appeared on a receipt.
Two charges of obstructing officials carrying out the inspection were dismissed after no evidence was offered.
Mackenzie was ordered to pay £1,000 fine per offence, plus £100 costs a total of £4,100.
The prosecution against Mackenzie came after another on against the business itself earlier this year.
At Newport Magistrates’ Court, Antelope Green Fuels Ltd was found guilty of a number of offences under the Weights and Measures Act 1985 and the Fraud Act 2006, namely that it used equipment that had not been stamped as fit for use for trade, using measuring equipment that was unjust and falsely representing that a fuel was white diesel when it was not.
The company was ordered to pay £1,000 fine per offence, plus costs of £2,577.31 and a victim surcharge of £100, totalling £5,677.31.
Speaking after the prosecutions, Cllr David Poole, Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services, said: “Our officers work tirelessly alongside colleagues at partnership organisations such as HMRC to ensure that those who try to get away with such practices are brought to task.
“Legitimate businesses are facing a difficult financial situation as it is, without being undercut by people and businesses involved in this type of illegal activity. I am pleased that the court has emphasised the seriousness of these offences in the fines it imposed.”