A Bury New Road counterfeit goods seller dubbed himself 'Pablo Escobar'.
The basement unit below a takeaway on the road was twice raided by Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police in October 2020 and April 2021 with counterfeit goods estimated to be worth more than £1 million if they were genuine. Fraidon Wadood rented and ran the shop with Moshtagh Hashimi and Imran Jabarkhail hired as workers, who knew Wadood as 'Pablo'.
A probe launched by PIPCU and partners led to the shop first being raided in October 21, 2020, where 6,652 items of counterfeit clothing, watches, jewellery and perfume, were seized with Jabarkhail and Hashimi arrested. At Manchester Crown Court on June 6 all three were handed suspended sentences.
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Jabarkhail, 21, told officers that he was employed by Hashimi, 47, as a ‘spotter’ to look out for police and close the shop if they were in the area. Hashimi stated that he worked for a man named Pablo, but was unable to provide further details.
'Pablo' was discovered to be an alias used by Wadood, who rented the basement, and when officers raided the shop again on April 16, 2021, Wadood and Hashimi were arrested, with 4,443 counterfeit items seized. Hashimi said in police interviews that his role was to restock the shop and serve customers, and that the average selling price of an item in the shop was around £25.
Hashimi told officers that he worked for Wadood, who took his alias from infamous Columbian criminal Pablo Escobar.
Wadood told officers he worked with Hashimi but denied knowing Jabarkhail. He initially told officers he had sublet the shop from another man, however, he later admitted he rented the unit directly from the building's landlord.
After this second raid the unit was shut down with Wadood's lease terminated.
At Manchester Crown Court Wadood, 40, of Barrow Hill Road, Cheetham Hill, was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years. Hashimi, of Sandyhills, Bolton, was sentenced to 39 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and 200 hours community service.
Jabarkhail of Clarendon Street, Manchester, was sentenced to 30 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and 50 hours community service.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt, from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police, said: "Selling counterfeit goods is illegal. The men tried to hide their illegitimate business under the guise of a fast food shop, and part of Jabarkhail’s job was to let the others know if police were nearby.
"Jabarkhail and Hashimi knew that their actions were against the law, so it was infuriating to see Hashimi back on the shop floor when we went to the shop for a second time. However, our investigation identified Wadood as the ringleader of this operation and put an end to his scheme.
"We hope that this result sends a strong message to other criminals involved in the sale of counterfeit goods that this will not be tolerated."
Marcus Evans, Deputy Director of Intelligence and Law Enforcement at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), added: "Criminals are seeking to exploit consumers and communities for their own financial gain through the trade in illegal counterfeits – with absolutely no regard for the quality or safety of the items being sold, which are often dangerous and defective. Such items can cause genuine harm to the people who buy and use them, as well as those workers often exploited during their production.
"As well as helping to sustain criminal lifestyles, the sale of counterfeit goods has been estimated to contribute to over 80,000 job loses each year in the UK by diverting funds away from legitimate traders and into the hands of criminals. We are pleased to support the ongoing activity by our colleagues in law enforcement to clamp down on this illegal activity and bring those involved to justice, as we continue to work with partners across industry, government and law enforcement to help empower consumers and raise awareness of the damage counterfeits cause."
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