Piles of toys and electronics have been seized from Arbroath’s Nickel & Dime and the store’s director could be jailed.
Businessman Kaleem Ahmed admitted failing to provide vital information about the provenance of supplies.
Ahmed, who has no previous convictions, could be sentenced to six months behind bars and has had piles of undocumented stock seized by the Crown Office.
The 30-year-old, of the town’s Ogilvy Place, had been probed by Angus Council’s trading standards team.
Fiscal Depute Jill Drummond explained officers had arranged a meeting with Ahmed a year earlier to quiz him about their concerns.
Ms Drummond told Forfar Sheriff Court: “The accused had been provided with verbal and written business advice.
“Trading Standards officers carried out inspections and follow up visits.”
She explained council intervention in May 2019 uncovered non-compliant toys and electricals.
Ahmed, who is understood to have recently returned to the UK from Pakistan, was not present at court when his lawyer admitted the breaches.
The council enforcers had requested information about Darth Vader and Yoda Star Wars lightsabers, wooden trucks and “squidgy poos” on May 21, 2019.
Ahmed was unable to disclose who had supplied them or when they had been bought.
Among the other toys of which his company Angus Housewares could not pinpoint the origins were Aojie-branded dumbbells, LED light-up wands, antenna hairbands, dolls, toy jets and “Barrels O Slime.”
Three days later, Trading Standards also asked for supplier details for a host of electrical appliances including kettles, toasters and chargers which, again, Ahmed was unable to provide.
Other items included Hello Kitty lava lamps, globe lights and cassette players.
More than 500 items have now been forfeited.
Charges
Ahmed and his company had originally faced 22 charges relating to product safety and documentation.
However, not guilty pleas were accepted for 18 of the charges, relating to matters including chemical fears and safety issues.
It had previously been alleged Angus Housewares had offered toys with prohibited levels of boron and banned phthalates, or posed a strangulation hazard.
Both Ahmed and his company were ultimately convicted of, by virtue of neglect, failing without reasonable cause to comply with toy safety requirements to provide the details of toy suppliers and the dates of supply to Angus Council Trading Standards on May 21, 2019.
Furthermore, Ahmed admitted, in his capacity as director of Angus Housewares Ltd, failing without reasonable cause to provide the details of suppliers of various electrical items and their dates of supply to trading standards three days later.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown will sentence Ahmed on October 28.
The sheriff will have the option of either handing Ahmed a prison sentence of up to six months and/ or a financial penalty up to £10,000 .
Safety standards not met
Angus Council explained many of the the confiscated toys and electronics did not meet its safety requirements.
A spokesperson said: “This was a long and complex investigation into the safety of various goods made available for sale to the general public by Angus Housewares Ltd who used the trading name Nickel & Dime.
“Trading Standards Officers seized a large number of items suspected to be unsafe and a number of those products such as toys and electrical goods failed when tested for compliance.
“Mr Ahmed pled guilty to some of the charges and over 500 non-compliant and unsafe products were forfeited by the court.
“The Trading Standards Service have a duty to carry out market surveillance.
“We do this by carrying out routine inspections and providing business advice when appropriate.
“Where businesses ignore their obligations, we will report to the Procurator Fiscal.
“Our aim is to ensure Angus remains a safe shopping environment for consumers and that businesses are aware of their duties in relation to the supply of safe products.”
