A woman who possessed 344 counterfeit designer handbags as part of a Facebook business has been fined almost £13k.

Following an investigation by Wiltshire Council Trading Standards Officers, Kesini Krueanarong, 46, was prosecuted at Salisbury Crown Court, under the Trade Marks Act 1994.

Ms Krueanarong pleaded guilty to 15 counts of being in possession of counterfeit designer handbags in the course of a business.

During the hearing, held on Friday, August 2, Ms Krueanarong was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

She must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £12,958 and a victim surcharge.

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Between December 2020 and February 2021, Wiltshire Trading Standards received several complaints that Ms Krueanarong had sold counterfeit handbags.  Officers provided advice to the defendant, who claimed that she had sold her own personal items.

A further complaint was received, in August 2021, from a person who had purchased 70 counterfeit handbags from Ms Krueanarong via a Facebook page where she had advertised items for sale.

Seized counterfeit handbags Seized counterfeit handbags (Image: Wiltshire Council)

Brands included Giorgio Armani, Versace, Burberry, Chanel, Celine, Dior, Givenchy, Hermes, Longchamp, Louis Vuitton, MCM, Prada, Miu Miu and YSL.

In August and September 2021, UK Border Force sent warning letters to Ms Krueanarong, after they intercepted packages addressed to her arriving from Thailand, which contained more counterfeit handbags.

Following intelligence that Ms Krueanarong was continuing to sell fake designer handbags through Facebook, Trading Standards Officers executed a warrant at her home in June 2022. During the raid, 361 handbags were seized and following examination, 344 of these were subsequently found to be counterfeit. 

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Cabinet member for environment cllr Dominic Muns said: "We are pleased to have exposed this fraudulent activity and brought Ms Krueanarong to justice. We hope that this sentence will serve as a warning and a deterrent both to her and anyone else participating in this form of activity.

“The impact of this kind of fraud is far reaching, affecting both consumer confidence and trust. As set out in our Business Plan, we take our commitment to protect residents from harm and our consumer protection role seriously and will never hesitate to prosecute in circumstances like this.

“I also want to thank the victims in this case for coming forward and sharing their experiences to help us secure these prosecutions.”

If anyone believes they have a consumer issue and needs advice or wishes to report a business, they should call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133.