Banbury shop owner found guilty after fake cigarettes seized
A Banbury shop owner has been ordered to pay back £75,000 following a raid where counterfeit cigarettes were seized.
Thursday, 25th February 2021, 8:49 pm
Oxfordshire Trading standards swooped in on the Warwick Road, Banbury shop in June 2019, seizing nearly 3,000 illegal cigarettes as part of the case (photo from Oxfordshire County Council)
A Banbury shop owner has been ordered to pay back £75,000 following a raid where counterfeit cigarettes were seized.
Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards team brought a prosecution of Narinder Singh Malhotra, the director of Banbury Express Food and Wine Limited, which trades from 179 Warwick Road, Banbury. The case was heard at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday.
Coran Bateman, of Mill Close, Charlton-on-Close, appeared in the dock of Oxford Magistrates Court on February 2.
The 34-year-old admitted:
burglary with intent to steal at Papilion Fish Bar in Bicester on January 5
going equipped for theft on April 17 after he was found with a hammer, screwdriver, torch, gloves and bike lights He was jailed for 20 weeks, suspended for 18 months because the offence is so serious . He will also have a curfew under electronic monitoring for eight weeks and must have treatment for his drug dependency under the direction of probation services for 12 months. He must pay compensation of £150. -
The law would make ‘intentional trespass’ a criminal offence. Under the proposals, families living on unauthorised encampments could face time behind bars, a hefty fine or the removal of their home. The legislation has already received cross-party approval in Oxfordshire after dozens of traveller groups set up camps on playing fields and car parks across the county in recent years, costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal bills and clean-up fees. A canister left at Oatlands Road recreation ground in Oxford in 2018 Residents and councillors across the county have vented their frustrating at having little power to deal with the menace but the new legislation, being proposed by Home Secretary Priti Patel, could act as a deterrent to travellers.
Will new legislation stop travellers from setting up camp at park and rides? oxfordmail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oxfordmail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.