Wiltshire illegal meat seller must repay £150k

Gent Jakupi, a former army reservist, turned up to court in 2021 dressed in his Rifles regiment uniform

An illegal meat trader who was jailed for operating out of filthy car washes has been ordered to repay £150,000.

Gent Jakupi, from Devizes, was jailed for 10 months last year after pleading guilty to 39 food hygiene offences.

It came after an investigation found that joints of beef and lamb were cut up in car washes across Wiltshire while surrounded by oil and dog waste.

Jakupi, 41, has since been ordered to pay back the "ill-gotten gains" under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The former army reservist appeared at Swindon Crown Court on 5 December and was served with the confiscation order.

It concluded he had gained significant financial benefit from his offending and was found to have made £154,342.62 with £3,500 available for immediate confiscation.

Gent Jakupi had been running a meat trading business from inside hand car washes

Jakupi, formerly of New Park Street, Devizes, has been ordered to repay the amount within three months or face a default prison term of three months in addition to his original sentence.

Councillor Ian Blair Pilling, cabinet member for public protection said: "I am pleased that in addition to the original conviction and custodial sentence, Mr Jakupi has been ordered to pay back his ill-gotten gains.

"This was one of the worst cases that our food and safety team have dealt with and the defendant put consumers and their families at serious risk."

Jakupi was jailed following raids by Wiltshire Council's food and safety team on his illicit meat butchery and delivery business operation from hand car wash premises in Devizes and Ludgershall in October and November 2020.

Working with the Food Standards Agency, a national food alert was issued warning that meat supplied by him was unfit for consumption.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said a total of 5.1 tonnes of meat was seized from his premises and was condemned for destruction.

Following his conviction, a proceeds of crime investigation was conducted by the Food Standards Agency's National Food Crime Unit on behalf of Wiltshire Council.

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