Shop owners admit stacking shelves with fake goods

TWO shop-owners, one who is from Stockport, who sold counterfeit goods including socks, placemats and perfume have pleaded guilty to 14 offences.

Muhammad Waqar Hanif and Majeed Pervaiz Muhammad Azizan stocked the shelves of their Pound Grow store in Nelson with fake Chanel items.

The 103 items included two brooches, 31 pairs of socks, five handbags, 42 bottles of perfume, 15 pairs of sunglasses, two belts, three placemats and three giftsets.

Lancashire Trading Standards launched an investigation and raided the shop in Place De Criel last March when they also seized packets of non-standardised tobacco and e-cigarettes containing more than the permitted volume of nicotine-containing liquid.

Last week, Hanif, of Victoria Street in Nelson and Azizan, of Cherry Tree Lane in Stockport, appeared at Burnley Crown Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to 14 offences.

The court heard that, in total, almost 650 items were seized which also included recognisable brands such as Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton and Versace.

Behind the counter cigarettes and tobacco were kept in carrier bags.

One of the officers used the shop till to scan packets of the illicit tobacco.

The digital till screen showed all the packets scanned a price of £5 but with a description of ‘M Cheap Drink’ for a packet of Amber Leaf tobacco in non-standardised packaging, ‘Ric Drink’ for a packet of Richmond cigarettes and ‘Mar Drink’ for a packet of Marlboro cigarettes.

A packet of suspected counterfeit Amber Leaf hand rolling tobacco scanned at £18 with the description ‘Ame G Drink’.

A number of e-cigarettes were also seized from under the shop counter, 65 of which contained more than the 2ml prescribed maximum tank capacity for nicotine-containing liquid.

When they were questions Hanif and Azazin claimed that the cigarettes were for their own use and not for sale.

They told investigators that they were new to the business and didn’t know the rules and regulations.

They added that they bought the perfumes from a rep who came to the store on sale or return but they have no contact details for the rep and he has not returned since.

Hanif, 33, and Azazin, 48, were both given an 18-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work.

A subsequent hearing will take place at a date to be confirmed to determine if any proceeds of crime should be confiscated.