Two men have been jailed for their involvement in a conspiracy to sell meat intended for pet food to human consumers. Anthony Fear, 63, and Azar Irshad, 40, were sentenced at Inner London Crown Court after an investigation by Trading Standards officers.
The court heard that Fear, who ran a company in Bridgwater, Somerset, supplied meat not fit for human consumption to Irshad. Irshad then prepared the meat in a cutting room in south London. The meat, including whole chickens and lambs' testicles, was meant to be disposed of or used in pet food but was instead sold to customers for human consumption.
Residents living near a shop on Walworth Road in Walworth complained about the stench of rotting meat in 2020. Officers later discovered a linked premises on East Street, where an illegal cutting shop was found. Workers were seen cutting, skinning, washing and portioning tainted raw poultry for distribution.
Judge Noel Lucas KC described Fear as 'a greedy man' and 'a risk taker', motivated by 'sheer greed'. Fear was sentenced to 42 months in prison and disqualified from being a company director for six years. Irshad, who pleaded guilty, received 35 months for conspiracy and six months for regulatory offences, to run concurrently.
Mark Hooper, 64, a manager for Fear's business, pleaded guilty and received a two-year suspended sentence with 200 hours of unpaid work. Ali Afzal pleaded guilty to regulatory offences and was given a six-month suspended sentence, 150 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.
Andrew Quinn, head of the National Food Crime Unit, said: 'The sentences handed down today show that there is no place for such criminal activity in our food system.' He emphasised the serious risk to consumer safety when food safety regulations are deliberately disregarded.
