A South Gloucestershire market trader has been handed a 12 week curfew order after his stall was found stocked with 255 items of counterfeit clothing, including copies of brands like Bench, Henleys and Adidas.
Amarjit Singh, 18, of Sutherland Avenue, Downend, appeared before Northavon Magistrates on Tuesday 18th January and pleaded guilty to 14 charges of possessing counterfeit goods for sale under the Trade Marks Act 1994. His sentence requires him to stay at home between the hours of 7am and 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays for the next three months. In addition he was ordered to pay £250 in prosecution costs.
The case was brought by South Gloucestershire Trading Standards after they identified a number of stallholders trading illegally at a Saturday market held in Filton. In December 2009 Trading Standards, along with police and clothing industry representatives raided the market and suspected offenders were arrested.
Singh was discovered in charge of a stall selling copies of seven different brands of tracksuits, t shirts, sweatshirts and jackets. He was immediately arrested and all of his stock seized. Upon questioning he gave officers an address in Fishponds which was later found to be bogus. However, at a later date he mistakenly mentioned an address in Downend within earshot of investigating officers who subsequently established it to be his true address.
In court, Singh’s legal representative said that he is currently a student and indicated that he was running the stall on behalf of other family members.
The genuine value of the stock seized from Singh was in excess of £10,000 and, as part of the proceedings, magistrates ordered that it all be forfeited.
The court decided that Singh would have known the likely outcome of his actions in running the stall on the day in question, but took account of his early guilty plea. They ordered that he be fitted with an electronic tag immediately and that his movements would be closely monitored at weekends.
Heather Goddard, executive member for communities said: “Trading Standards are determined to take a robust stance with people who trade in counterfeit products and thereby jeopardise local economies.”
Mark Pullin, trading standards and licensing manager said: “We are grateful for the early guilty plea and we should not underestimate the effect that a curfew order will have on a person of Mr Singh’s age.”
Anyone wishing to report sellers of counterfeit goods can do so in strictest confidence by calling Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.
Source: South Gloucestershire Council
