Man ordered to repay £150K for illegal meat trading in Ludgershall
Gent Jakupi's been served with a confiscation order
A man's been ordered to repay £150,000, earned through illegal meat trading from a Ludgershall premises, or face a prison term.
Gent Jakupi was given a six month jail term in December 2021 after admitting 39 food hygiene offences.
He'd been keeping and selling meat in unsafe and illegal conditions from a site on Andover Road, which had the frontage of a hand car wash - and another base on New Park Street in Devizes.
5.1 tonnes of meat was seized and destroyed following an investigation by Wiltshire Council and the Food Standards Agency.
Now, he's been served with a confiscation order by Swindon Crown Court - which means he'll have to repay the proceeds of his illegal activity.
That totals £154,342.62, and he'll have to pay it back within three months, or face a default prison term of three months.
Senior Financial Investigator, Yvonne Barwani, of the National Food Crime unit who conducted the Proceeds of Crime investigation for the Council said:
“This is a satisfying result and shows that food crime does not pay. This investigation and subsequent prosecution also provide a good example of organisations working closely together to ensure that consumers are protected from illegal activity.”
Cllr Ian Blair Pilling, Cabinet Member for Public Protection at Wiltshire Council said:
“I am pleased that in addition to the original conviction and custodial sentence, Mr Jakupi has been ordered to pay back his ill-gotten gains.
"This was one of the worst cases that our Food and Safety team have dealt with and the defendant put consumers and their families at serious risk. I hope that this will act as a warning to others that this dangerous behaviour will not be tolerated in Wiltshire and that they will not prosper from it.
"I would also like to thank our Food and Safety team and the National Food Crime Unit of the Food Standards Agency for their hard work.”