Two men jailed over plot to sell ‘disgustingly filthy’ waste meat to shoppers

Two men who plotted to sell tainted meat meant to be used for pet food to unsuspecting shoppers have been jailed.

Nearly two tonnes of animal by-products not fit for human consumption – including whole chickens, lambs’ testicles and sheep’s heads – were found piled up inside a cutting room in south London.

Trading Standards were tipped off by neighbours who complained of the stench of rotting meat emanating from a ‘disgustingly filthy’ shop in Walworth in 2020.

Some took photographs of large containers of meat which were left to spoil in the baking sun, Inner London Crown Court heard.

Officers also investigated a linked premises in nearby East Street where, behind stacked boxes, they found a door to an illegal cutting shop, where workers were found cutting, skinning, washing and portioning tainted raw poultry for it to be distributed and sold.

The premises were run by Azar Irshad, 40, Ali Afzal and a third person called Arshad Akhtar, who has since died.

Once meat is classified as an animal by-product, it can never be sold for human consumption for food safety reasons.

But the court heard Irshad, a halal butcher, made 16 trips to a business in Bridgwater, Somerset, run by Anthony Fear, 60, to bring the meat to what the judge called ‘a disgustingly filthy’ cutting room in south London.

In the investigation, Trading Standards found 1.9 tonnes of animal by-product, which included whole and cut chickens, lambs’ testicles and beef burgers, all of which were improperly handled and stored at an unregistered premises in Walworth.

The meat was traced back to Fear’s business and evidence showed he had been contracted by meat companies to collect animal by-products and transport them to pet food producer Saria.

Fear and his business Fears Animal Products Limited were convicted of conspiring to divert meat not fit for human consumption into the human food chain after a 12-week trial.

Judge Noel Lucas KC said Fear’s offending was motivated by ‘sheer greed’ and was ‘a gross dereliction of the trust placed in him’.

Sentencing him at Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Lucas told him: ‘You are a wealthy man with a successful business.

‘Save pure greed and arrogance to think you could get away with it, you had no motivation.’

Fear was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment and was also disqualified from being a director of a business for six years.

The judge noted Irshad was trusted to provide halal meat to his customers and ‘abused this trust’.

Irshad previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and other regulatory offences.

He was sentenced to 35 months’ imprisonment for his role in the conspiracy, and six months’ imprisonment for each of the regulatory offences, to run concurrently.

Irshad was also ordered not to sell any food products and not to be involved in any way with any food business, until further order.

Mark Hooper, a manager for Fear’s business, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy.

The 64-year-old was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He was ordered to complete 200 hours’ unpaid work within the next 12 months.

Afzal previously pleaded guilty to regulatory offences and was sentenced on Thursday to six months’ imprisonment suspended for 21 months, 150 unpaid work hours to complete over 12 months, and £5,000 in costs to pay over the next six months.

The judge adjourned the victims’ costs orders for Fear, Irshad and Hooper to a later date.

Andrew Quinn, head of the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU), said: ‘The sentences handed down today show that there is no place for such criminal activity in our food system.

‘The case demonstrates the serious risk posed to consumer safety when individuals deliberately disregard food safety regulations by putting meat unfit for human consumption back into the food chain.

‘We remain committed to our work identifying, investigating, and prosecuting those who seek to exploit our food system for financial gain at the expense of public safety.’

Southwark borough councillor Natasha Ennin said: ‘This sentencing marks the end of a long and determined investigation to hold food criminals to account.

‘These individuals operated with complete disregard for public health, motivated solely by greed.

‘Consumers have a right to trust the safety of their food.

‘We are grateful to our officers and to the NFCU for their tireless efforts in exposing this criminal enterprise.’

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