The owner, Asif Aziz Khan, has been ordered to pay £25,000. Redbridge Council investigators found counterfeit iPhones and banned tobacco in his store during their crackdown against smuggled and illegal goods.
Asif Aziz Khan and his company Iqra Halal Meat Ltd, which trades as BB Fatima Cash and Carry in Ilford Lane, were each fined £11,700 and directed to pay £950 costs at Snaresbrook crown court, totaling £25,300.
They were convicted after a trial and sentenced on February 20 and the Council has now confirmed that the fine has been paid and BB Fatima Cash and Carry and other stores are under observation by the council. Working with tobacco detection dogs, Redbridge Council's Trading Standards team found large quantities of smuggled tobacco in the shop. Inside a locked office, they also found 160 fake iPhones, along with more smuggled tobacco.
"This is a great result for our Trading Standards team. We're determined to protect our residents from unscrupulous traders. Redbridge Council works tirelessly to stamp out criminal behaviour and take illegal goods off our streets. These products are unregulated and are often found not to meet UK health and safety standards,” Councillor Jas Athwal, leader of Redbridge Council said.
However, Asif Khan stated that the phones were to be used as dummies in a proposed mobile phone business, but was not able to provide any evidence to substantiate these claims.
The case was initially heard at Barkingside Magistrates' Court, but Asif Khan chose to go to trial at the Crown Court where he lost the case and was convicted.