Salisbury woman sentenced for importing fake designer handbags
46 year old Kesini Krueanarong admitted 15 offences against her
A woman from Salisbury has been handed a suspended prison sentence under the Trade Marks Act 1994, for having fake designer handbags.
46 year old Kesini Krueanarong admitted 15 counts of being in possession of counterfeit goods, in the course of a business.
She's been given a 12 month jail term, suspended for 12 months, as well as ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, pay £12,958 of costs and a victim surcharge.
Krueanarong had been the subject of a Wiltshire Council Trading Standards investigation, after they had complaints of her selling counterfeit handbag between December 2020 and February 2021.
Officers gave her advice, after she claimed she was selling her own personal items.
Another complaint was given to Trading Standards in August 2021, from a person who'd purchased 70 fake designer handbags from Kesini Krueanarong , through a Facebook page.
UK Border Force sent warning letters to Ms Krueanarong, after they intercepted packages addressed to her arriving from Thailand, which contained more counterfeit handbags, in August and September 2021,
Trading Standards Officers executed a warrant at her home in June 2022, seizing 361 handbags - 344 of which were subsequently found to be counterfeit.
Brands included Giorgio Armani, Versace, Burberry, Chanel, Celine, Dior, Givenchy, Hermes, Longchamp, Louis Vuitton, MCM, Prada, Miu Miu and YSL.
Cllr Dominic Muns, Cabinet Member for Environment, said:
"We are pleased to have exposed this fraudulent activity and brought Ms Krueanarong to justice. We hope that this sentence will serve as a warning and a deterrent both to her and anyone else participating in this form of activity.
“The impact of this kind of fraud is far reaching, affecting both consumer confidence and trust. As set out in our Business Plan, we take our commitment to protect residents from harm and our consumer protection role seriously and will never hesitate to prosecute in circumstances like this.
“I also want to thank the victims in this case for coming forward and sharing their experiences to help us secure these prosecutions.”