A man has been fined and handed a suspended sentance over fake Muppets movies, illegal tobacco and booze.

 Ian James Whipp, 59 of Minorca Lane, Bugle Cornwall, was sentenced on Friday 6 March in relation to a total of nine offences covering the sale of illegal tobacco, counterfeit DVD’s and the unlicensed sale of alcohol.

Whipp, who pleaded guilty, had been caught in possession of 80 pouches of Cutters Choice hand rolling tobacco, which had been illegally imported for sale into the UK and 12 packets of PЭCT (pronounced Fest) a brand produced exclusively for the illicit market.

Mr Whipp admitted that he had bought the tobacco to sell on, and would be making £1 profit on each item. He also admitted to possessing for sale a large quantity of wine and other alcoholic beverages without an appropriate license.

Mr Whipp further pleaded guilty to the possession for sale of a number of counterfeit CD and DVD’s some of which had not at that time been released onto the UK market, and were therefore unclassified.

Taking into account similar previous offending by Mr Whipp and, the fact that Mr Whipp was out from prison under license for a blackmailing conviction at the time of the offence, Bodmin Magistrates court handed down a 120 day custodial sentence, suspended for two years and a 220 hour supervised community order to carry out unpaid work over a 12 month period. Whipp was also ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge and £1,000 towards Cornwall Council’s costs.

Elizabeth Kirk, Senior Trading Standards Officer with Cornwall Council, who investigated this case said, “We feel the sentence handed down to Mr Whipp today reflects the seriousness of his offending. The sale of illegal goods undermines genuine businesses, and the sale of illegal tobacco adversely affects the health of our communities”

Ian James Whipp pleaded guilty to the following:

• Two offences under the Video Recordings Act 1984 Section 10(1) and (3) for the sale of unclassified video recordings

• One offence under the Licensing Act 2003 for the sale of alcohol without a license

• Four offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 for the sale of counterfeit DVD’s

• One offence under the Tobacco Products (Manufacture, presentation and Sale) (Safety) Regulations Reg14(1) for the sale of foreign labelled tobacco products

• The titles of DVD’s included The Muppets Most Wanted, Noah and The Need for Speed