St Marks Food and Wine. Photo via Google.
A Maidenhead shop and its owner have been told to pay fines and costs of more than £7,000 after selling a set of knives to a child.
The offence took place at Powney Food and Wine Limited, trading as St Marks Food and Wine, based at 123 Powney Road in Maidenhead.
The shop is owned by Charan Singh Ahuja, aged 37, of Tollgate Drive in Hayes.
On November 13, 2023, St Marks Food & Wine sold a set of craft knives to a minor during a test purchasing operation run by RBWM's Trading Standards alongside Thames Valley Police.
A test purchasing operation, effectively a sting, involves recruiting an underage person to attempt to make a purchase at a particular shop, to catch out those who make a sale without seeing appropriate ID.
In the UK, it's illegal to sell most knives to anyone under the age of 18. Selling them to someone under this age carries a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, or an unlimited fine.
Ajuha had previously been warned about selling knives to underage customers - he received both verbal and written advice from Trading Standards about the law on age-restricted products.
After catching the shop red-handed, the Royal Borough brought forward a prosecution, and on August 16 at Reading Magistrates’ Court, Ahuja pleaded guilty to the offence on behalf of himself and of the company.
Powney Food and Wine Limited must now pay total fines of £3,000, a victim surcharge of £1,200 and the Royal Borough’s costs of £819.
In addition, Ajuha himself must now pay fines of £846, a victim surcharge of £338 and the Royal Borough’s costs of £819.
This is a total of £7,022 in fines and costs. The knives have also been seized and will be destroyed.
Kevin McDaniel, executive director of adult services, health and communities, said: “I’d like to commend the work of our Trading Standards team in delivering this successful prosecution and helping to keep our borough safe.
“The sale of knives to children is completely unacceptable and this prosecution should be a warning to other shops in the area as to what will happen if they do not comply with the law.”
If you suspect a retailer is selling illegal products or selling age restricted products to underage customers, you can let the Trading Standards team know via email at Trading.Standards@RBWM.gov.uk
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