Fake goods and tobacco worth around £25,000 have been confiscated by the courts in two separate counterfeiting cases.
A Penyrheol man has been ordered to pay almost £2,000 after £15,000 worth of fake goods were found at his home by police officers. In another case, a Hengoed man has been tagged and given 200 hours of community service after £10,000 worth of fake goods were seized at his parents’ home.
Mark Anthony Griffiths, 38, of Heol Aneurin, Penyrheol, admitted nine charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994 at Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court on Thursday January 3 2013.
Counterfeit DVDs, fake designer clothes and an array of other goods, including 37,520 cigarettes, and over 2kg of hand rolling tobacco, were found by police officers after they raided his home in connection with a drugs warrant.
Gwent Police passed the items to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team for inspection.
Griffiths was fined a total of £450 for the nine offences and was also ordered to pay £1522.43 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. The goods were also confiscated by the court.
In another case, a Hengoed man was handed 200 hours of community service by Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court also on January 3, 2012.
Gareth David Parker, 36, of Trosnant Crescent,Penybryn, Hengoed, pleaded guilty to seven charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and five charges under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
The court was told that police and Trading Standards officers raided Parker’s parents’ home in Penybryn on January 25 2012 and seized in excess of £10,000 worth of goods and counterfeiting equipment, including a computer with thousands of film and music files and copying equipment.
Parker’s business involved the application of football team logos to mugs, keyrings, clocks and other items as well as the supply of counterfeit DVDs, computer games and music discs. He also sold devices which enabled games consoles to play copied games.
He was sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work on Saturdays and Sundays as part of a 12 month community order.
Parker was also electronically tagged and cannot leave his parents’ home between the hours of 7pm and 6am. He was also ordered to pay £898 in prosecution costs.
Speaking after the cases were heard, Cllr Dave Poole, cabinet member for community and leisure services, said: “Counterfeiting is a crime and this prosecution sends a firm message to the minority of people who break the law that action will be taken against them.
“It is unacceptable that people cheat genuine companies and legitimate retailers out of profit for their own means. By working in close partnership with the police, our Trading Standards team are able to seek out these people and, such as in this case, bring about a successful conviction.”
Caerphilly Neighbourhood Policing Team Sergeant Andy Down said: “Gwent Police work closely with honest members of the community who report suspicious activity and we will always follow-up these sort of calls.
“With our partner agencies, such as Trading Standards we will do all we can to ensure that people acting illegally are found, dealt with and made to face the consequences of their actions. This is an excellent result for Gwent Police, Caerphilly County Borough Council and the community of Caerphilly.”