Grays business fined for selling fake baby lotion

A COMPANY director and two firms have been fined a total of £3,450 by magistrates at Basildon for selling counterfeit Johnson’s baby lotion.

Director, Akhtar Shabarz, Pound City Ltd and Pound City (Grays) Ltd appeared in court on Thursday (7 June) each admitted two offences.

Magistrates heard that following a complaint Johnson & Johnson contacted Thurrock Trading Standards who seized 59 bottles of counterfeit Johnson’s baby lotion from Pound City, High Street, Grays.

On the same day in December 2010, officers from Newham Trading Standards seized 9 bottles of counterfeit Johnson’s baby lotion from Pound City in East Ham.

Tests carried out by Johnson &Johnson found the lotion to be counterfeit and containing certain preservatives which the company does not use.

All three defendants were charged with selling, offering or exposing for sale goods which bear a sign identical to a registered trademark without the consent of the proprietor of the trademark and the companies were further charged with offering or exposing for supply goods prohibited under safety regulations because the product did not display the details of the manufacturer or person responsible for marketing the product.

Shabarz, from South London, admitted he had bought the lotion because it was cheap from someone who came into his store. He had made no attempt to check that the lotion was genuine.

The director and both companies were each fined £1,150 and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge.

Shabarz was also ordered to pay £3,585 in costs to Thurrock Council and £750 costs to Newham Council.

Kevin Donovan, Vice President of Global Security, Johnson & Johnson, said: “We are grateful for the diligent efforts of law enforcement and government agencies in supporting the fight against counterfeiting.

“We must do everything we can to ensure the integrity of our global supply chains to protect the consumers and patients who use our products all over the world.”