A Southall trader caught selling counterfeit designer-label face masks and illicit hand sanitiser bottles has been fined more than £15,000 for breaching trading standards.

Mr Ulgeet Singh appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Wednesday (February 22) to answer 13 offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013.

Trading standards officers visited the Southall premises of Mr Singh's company Yark London Limited back in August 2020 where they discovered 1,458 face masks with designer brand labels including Burberry, Versace, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Nike.

Officers also found hand sanitiser bottles with incorrect UK import labelling, as well as a further 10,000 non-branded face masks which were unsafe and 'offered little to no protection to consumers'.

Further examination of the hand sanitisers later confirmed the products breached Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013.

The designer-branded face masks, also seized, were later confirmed to be counterfeits.

In court, Yark London Limited pleaded guilty to all 10 offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and three offences under the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013.

The company was subsequently fined £9,900 plus costs of £5,142 and a victim surcharge of £190, bringing the total cost of the fine to £15,232.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for decent living incomes said: "This case proves that where there's money to be made, some unscrupulous traders will stop at nothing and put consumers' lives at risk by selling products that are counterfeit and of inferior quality.

"The majority of retailers in Ealing are law abiding traders, but there are those who believe they can make easy money by selling fake goods that have not been subjected to rigorous safety tests.

"We will do all within our means to unmask these reckless, rogue traders who continue to sell counterfeit and illegally imported products."