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Court Correspondent

Harare magistrate Mr Elijah Makomo last week convicted and fined Majada Hardware and Motor Spares $500 for selling fake Castrol lubricants to unsuspecting customers.Bryn Majada (36), the owner of Majada Hardware and Motor Spares, appeared in court as the first accused. Majada and his company were both facing two counts of contravenning the trade mark act and selling a petroleum product without a licence.

On the first count, Mr Makomo sentenced Majada to four months imprisonments which were wholly suspended before ordering him to perform 105 hours of community service for the second count. Mr Makomo fined Majada Hardware and Motor Spares $200 for the first count and $300 for the second count.

The court heard that in June last year, the complainant Munyaradzi Mhere (26) who is employed as an Assistant Marketing Manager at HP Lube Private Limited received reports from customers to the effect that the Castrol oil lubricants they were buying were not meeting the expected standards and he carried out investigations.

It was proved that Mhere established that Majada’s company was the one selling the oil with forged Castrol stickers applied to the containers, thereby deceiving customers and causing confusion. The state proved that on July 7, 2015 a warrant of search and seizure was issued at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts against Majada Hardware and Motor Spares.

The following day the warrant was executed and plus or minus 271 used/empty 5 litre containers of Castrol oil, forged Castrol stickers, a roll of aluminium foil and many Castrol 500 milliliters oil containers with no lids were recovered as exhibits leading to Majada’s arrest.