Prosecutions
The information on these pages is made available for a limited period in order to promote the openness, transparency and accountability of the criminal justice system to the people it serves. It is made available solely on the basis that it is for the individual use of the person who has accessed this page. The information on this web page must not be stored, recorded, republished, or otherwise processed without the explicit agreement of Coventry Trading Standards.
Latest action
30 June 2021
On 30 June 2021 at Coventry Magistrates Court, Mr Majad Khan operating at Jam Jar, 159 Corporation Street, Coventry, CV1 1GU pleaded guilty to offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and the Food Safety Act 1990. These relate to the supply of a ’Chocolate Flake Waffle – No Nuts’ that contained hazelnut protein and was therefore unsafe to a person with a nut allergy. Mr Majad Khan was fined £648 on the first charge and no separate penalty was issued for the second charge. Costs of £451.75 were awarded along with a Victim Surcharge of £65.
27 January 2021
On 27 January 2021 at Coventry Magistrates Court, Mr Ajanth Vijayakumaran, operating as a sole trader at Supermart 109 Proffitt Avenue, Coventry, CV6 7ET pleaded guilty to numerous Trading Standards offences identified by officers over a four month period between August 2019 and January 2020. The problems began during an inspection of the business on the 01/08/2019. Trading Standards Officers found meat products on display for sale up to 6 weeks beyond their use by date. Furthermore a number of toys were found on sale which were not labelled correctly and when later tested, found to be dangerous. Subsequently, on the 6 September 2019 officers re-visited the shop in response to intelligence received and identified 2 bottles of counterfeit ‘Glens’ Vodka on sale which officers seized. Then on the 23/12/2019 in response to complaints from members of the public, officers again re-visited the shop and supervised a 16-year-old volunteer make a covert test purchase of two cans of Carling Black Label Beer from the store. This was despite a previous letter of advice being issued to the business on this subject. Finally, on the 2 January 2019 officers returned to the business to respond to a consumer complaint, and during the course of the visit, identified large quantities of Polish beer on the premises for which no traceability information could be provided.
Mr Vijayakumaran pleaded guilty to all charges under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, the Toy Safety Regulations 2011, the Trade Marks Act 1994, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Licensing Act 2003. He was issued with an 18 month Community Order, with 200 hrs of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £2,069.84 in addition to a victim surcharge of £90. Forfeiture and destruction of all seized items was ordered.
25 November 2020
Mr Amritpal Singh, director of Mike Roberts Foodstores Limited trading as Nisa 76 Jardine Crescent, Coventry, CV4 9PQ pleaded guilty along with the company to Trade Mark Act offences relating to the possession of 133 bottles of vodka 35cl, which were counterfeit and displayed the Smirnoff trade mark.
The offences occurred on 14 August 2019 when an officer found the bottles during a visit to the shop because of another complaint. When comparing the bottles to authentic bottles also found in the shop it became apparent because of the discrepancies found in the labelling. Photographs and a bottle were sent to Diageo Plc who own the trade mark ‘Smirnoff’ who confirmed the bottles were fake.
Mr Singh was fined £743, had to pay £743 towards costs and a victim surcharge of 74 was levied. Mike Roberts Foodstores Limited was fined £4000, had to pay £876 towards costs and a victim surcharge of £181 was payable. All 133 bottles were subject to a forfeiture order for destruction.
22 September 2020
On 22 September 2020 Mr Mohammed Jussab, aged 63, the owner of General Grocers - 305-307 Foleshill Road, Coventry, CV1 4JS pleaded guilty to 8 offences relating to the sale of a Nicotine Inhaling Device in the form of Vape E-Liquid to a young person under the age of 18 and for being in possession of illegal tobacco.
The offences occurred on 23 December 2019 when a child aged 16, under the supervision of Trading Standards, entered the shop and asked to buy some Nicotine e-liquid. Mr Jussab did not ask for proof of age and sold the e-liquid for £2.50.
Officers then immediately entered the shop and spoke to Mr Jussab about the sale of the E-Liquid and during this conversation officers noticed a bag behind the counter that contained illegal tobacco.
On examining the contents, Officers found that they either were not in plain packaging and as such believed them to be counterfeit or that they were duty evading as the owner stated he was selling the cigarettes for £3.00 and the hand rolling tobacco for £5.00. These items were seized.
It is an offence under the Children and Families Act 2014 and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 to sell a nicotine containing product to those under 18.
Mr JUSSAB was fined £150.00 and had to pay costs of £100.00 plus a £32.00 Victim Surcharge.
4 March 2020
On 4 March 2020 Mr Dharmendra Singh [37] now of Kilmorie Road, Birmingham pleaded guilty to four offences relating to the supply of unsafe toys, namely Magnetic Putty in his shop, The Swag Shop, 4 Upper Precinct, CV2 4QP. These offences were originally committed in December 2017 but Mr Dharmendra SINGH was only able to attend Court to answer the charges on 4 March 2020. In December 2017 Officers visited Mr Singh’s shop and found some Magnetic Putty for sale for £4.00 per tin and noted that there was no manufacturers or importers name or address on the tin as required. On opening the tin, officers found a small plastic bag containing some type of gel and on top of this was a small loose magnet. A sample of the magnetic putty toy was sent for testing which found that the magnetic strength was 100 times the permitted level whilst the soluble metals found were almost three times the maximum prescribed. Mr Dharmendra Singh was fined a total of £800 with costs of £200 being awarded together with a victim surcharge of £100.
The shop in the Upper Precinct, Coventry run by Mr Dharmendra Singh has since closed and another unconnected business operates from the address.