Shopkeeper fined for selling fake Frozen dolls containing potentially harmful chemicals

Gavinder Singh Mehat, aged 23, of Eastgate Street, Burntwood, was caught selling the fake dolls as official merchandise associated with the hit film, by Trading Standards officers. Mehat was fined a total of £740 when he was brought before Stafford Magistrates Court.

This was after officers employed by Staffordshire County Council discovered he had been selling the counterfeit dolls in his shop during an investigation on December 14.

The counterfeit dolls were also found to contain 200 times the permitted level of phthalates – a group of chemicals used to make plastics more flexible and durable.

Excessive amounts of phthalates have been linked to a range of health conditions and disorders, including cancer.

Items seized included seven individual Elsa and Anna dolls, five Disney Frozen stationery sets, nine Disney Frozen pencil cases and one Elsa and Anna doll set.

Mehat pleaded guilty to Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading breaches and Trade Mark Act offences, and was fined £240 with £500 costs.

The court heard how Mehat asked his supplier for safety certificates – which were produced, but did not relate to the product.

Staffordshire County Council's trading standards leader Gill Heath said officers will 'intervene wherever possible' to cut down on counterfeit goods being sold in the county.

She said: "Selling counterfeit goods is not a harmless crime – it hits legitimate business, costs people jobs, rips off consumers and, as this case shows, can harm the public.

"Counterfeit items are shoddy replicas which are unregulated and untested. They can contain harmful substances and so need to be avoided.

"Traders who knowingly sell counterfeit goods are betraying the trust of their customers and committing an offence, so our officers will intervene wherever possible."

The case is not the first time counterfeit items related to the popular film, which broke cinema and DVD records around the world, have been sold in the West Midlands.

Last Christmas, parents in Walsall were warned fake Frozen dolls were circulating around the borough, also containing harmful chemicals.

Trading Standards issued a warning saying the dolls contained chemicals that could cause cancer, birth defects and infertility in men after a member of the public contacted trading standards alleging the products were being sold on market stalls and Facebook.

Anyone who believes they may have brought one of the fake Frozen dolls can contact Trading Standards on 0345 4040506.