Fake Nintendo games worth £113k on sale at Black Country market, judge hears

The haul was discovered when Trading Standards officers swooped in West Bromwich High Street during a joint operation with police to crack down on counterfeiting, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The investigators spotted sets of Dr Dre headphones on offer at £10 each, revealed Mr Mark Jackson, prosecuting, who added: "That led to immediate suspicion that these were counterfeit. The stall holder denied that there were any other sets which was untrue."

Naeem Bhatti, aged 38, also gave a false name and address after the investigators spotted that R4 cards for the Nintendo DS console were also on sale, the court heard.

Mr Jackson continued: "These allowed the storage of numerous counterfeit games on one card. When you buy from a genuine supplier there is one game per card."

Many of the R4 and SD cards for sale on the West Bromwich market stall had been pre loaded with up to 172 fake Nintendo games on each, it was said.

Those seized during the raid had a total of 3,766 fake games on them representing a potential loss to the legitimate Trademark holder of £112,980, concluded Mr Jackson.

Police found more fake headphones when they searched the car of father of two Bhatti who gave his correct details when taken away for questioning and admitted having an interest in a stall at another market, it was said.

Mr Harpreet Sandhu, defending, said: "This is a normally hard working man who, for a short period of time, behaved out of character. He has been in continuous employment for 25 years with the same employer who, not withstanding these proceedings, is content for that to continue."

The fake goods were found in December 2012 and the defendant had been anxiously waiting for the outcome of the case for over two years despite immediately admitting his involvement, added the lawyer.

Mr Sandhu concluded: "He has not committed any further offence since then. He is a man who has learned from this experience and has returned to being the hard working family man many believed him to be."

Tool setter Bhatti from Bristol Road, Selly Oak admitted 13 offences of infringing copyright and was given an eight month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to do 240 hours unpaid work. He now faces confiscation proceedings to claw back the money he made from the racket.

Judge Martin Walsh said: "This was small scale counterfeiting. It undermines the integrity of the product of legitimate suppliers and places their commercial position at risk."