A businessman who was caught selling “unsafe” electrical goods worth £54,000 has been ordered to pay back the profits he made.

Rizwan Nasir, 52, of Havering, was last year given a three-month suspended jail sentence for not complying with safety regulations.

He was arrested after goods were seized from a storage address in Romford by Havering Council trading standards officers and the Metropolitan Police in 2022.

The judge had issued a “forfeiture order” against Buyersbargin Ltd, an online business that sold chargers, adaptors, plugs, cables and earphones, of which Nasir had been a company director since 2015.

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A spokesperson for Havering Council said that the seized items were “falsely branded” as Apple, Samsung, Beats and Sennheiser and contravened UK safety laws.

She added that the Trading Standards team continued to pursue the case in Snaresbrook Crown Court in August to ensure that Nasir repaid the money he made on these products.

The court heard that Nasir has £38,000 out of the £50,000 profit he earned and gave him three months to return the money.

If Nasir fails to pay the sum within the deadline, the council says he will face a prison sentence of at least seven months.

He must also pay £2,000 in court costs

Havering Council leader Cllr Ray Morgan said that the investigation “has prevented unsafe products from reaching residents’ homes” and that the council will take “strongest action necessary” in such cases.

He added: “We hope this sends a loud and clear message to anyone thinking they can get away with this kind of thing, to think again.”