This was one costly piece of booze fraud.
The owner of a bar and off licence in Newcastle, County Down has been fined £6,000 after pleading guilty in court to selling counterfeit vodka.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that the Trading Standards Service brought a case against Patrick Robert Maginn, owner of Quinn’s Bar and Off Sales.
On 18 December 2014, a test purchase by officers of a one litre bottle of Smirnoff Red No 21 from Quinn’s Off Sales was confirmed as counterfeit by a Diageo representative.
Five further bottles were seized after also being confirmed as fake from the off licence, before a further 24 1.5 litre bottles from the upstairs and downstairs optics were also tested and revealed not to have any of the genuine Smirnoff product on the label.
The strength of the alcohol being sold by Maginn was 32.5% – all vodka must have a minimum strength of 37.5%.
Alison Gilchrist, an enforcement officer for the Trading Standards Service, said: “This is a very serious offence and the fine imposed by the court reflects its severity.
“Mr Maginn potentially put consumers at serious risk to boost his profit margins. He was knowingly selling this product in a very popular high street location in a popular seaside town in Northern Ireland and showed a blatant disregard for his customers.
“Mr Maginn has given little thought to the consequences of his actions. It is lucky that, on this occasion, nothing of a harmful nature was found in the fake vodka being sold at his premises.
“However, Mr Maginn could not have known under what conditions this alcohol was made when he sold it for consumption. We are well aware of the dangers that fake alcoholic drinks pose to those that consume them.
“Counterfeiting harms legitimate business and threatens jobs.
“The Trading Standards Service will continue to investigate sellers of counterfeit goods and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action against any trader found to be selling fakes. We would remind anyone involved in this type of activity that the courts can impose penalties of up to £5,000 or six months in prison per offence if trademarks or copyrights are infringed.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
