Licensee arrested for spirits substitution
Warrants for the arrest of two restaurant owners were issued after the pair failed to turn up to court on charges of spirits substitution.
In February 2007, Trading Standards officers discovered inferior vodka being sold from a Smirnoff bottle in King Balti Restaurant on Corporation Road, Newport.
The owners failed to appear at court and warrants were issued for their arrest.
Subsequently one of the owners, Shahiduar Rahman, was arrested on the 15 February and taken to the Abergavenny Magistrates Court on the same day.
He pleaded guilty and was fined £500 (reduced from £750 for his guilty plea) plus costs of £283.
The warrant for his partner remains outstanding.
"It is unfortunate but true that there is a higher chance that branded spirits have been substituted in an independent restaurant than any other on-licensed outlet, we are working hard to get the message across to licensees of these outlets not to refill bottles of branded spirits, even with the same brand," said International Federation of Spirits Producers (IFSP) director Philip Scatchard.
