Fake champagne & wine on sale in Haringey

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Cllr Nilgun Canver, said:

"The shop owners who sell this alcohol know they are not buying from legitimate suppliers so if you shop with reputable traders you are unlikely to be duped.

"Apart from consumers being tricked, some of these counterfeit goods may not have had all the checks required to ensure they are safe to consume."

Last month in a series of operations with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC),council trading standards officers visited small independent grocery off licence shops and found four in Muswell Hill and Bounds Green selling counterfeit or contraband goods.

One of them was selling eight magnums of fake Bollinger champagne and another had boxes of fake Jacobs Creek Wine.

All four shops also had non-duty paid goods,including a total of 110 packets of cigarettes, 200 bottles of wine and 20 litres of spirits, all of which were confiscated by HMRC.

Additionally, 40 packets of shisha tobacco were found at the shops which as well as being non duty paid also failed to carry the appropriate health warnings.