An Irish bar owner has been fined for selling fake vodka

A bar owner in Ireland has had to pay the price for selling fake vodka.  The owner of Quinn's Bar and Off Sales, in Newcastle Co. Down, has been fined £6,000 by the Trading Standards Service for selling counterfeit vodka in the bar. The Belfast Telegraph reports that a case was brought against Patrick Robert Maginn, the owner of the pub, by the Trading Standards Officers. The investigation began following allegations that the bar was selling fake Smirnoff vodka. In December 2014, the Trading Standards Officers carried out a test by purchasing a one-litre bottle of the Smirnoff (Red No 21) vodka from Quinn’s Off Sales. It was then confirmed to be counterfeit by a Diageo representative. Upon further investigation, they took five more bottles of Smirnoff vodka which also proved to be counterfeit. They had mixed Smirnoff with another type of vodka and put it on sale. In total, twenty-four 1.5 litre bottles of Smirnoff, on sale on the premises, were found to be counterfeit. All but one of the bottles had fake labels and a test of the liquid confirmed that none of the bottles contained genuine Smirnoff product. Alison Gilchrist, 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.”