Three traders in court over forged trademarks of CAT and Perkins automobile filters

Three persons accused of forging automobile filter trademarks have appeared before an Accra Circuit Court.

The accused persons are alleged to have forged various quantities of Caterpillar (CAT) and Perkins branded automobile filters.

Emmanuel Appah, 32, is said to have in his custody 130 pieces of forged CAT automobile filters, Lucky Obinnah had 84 pieces of CAT and 184 Perkins automobile filters and Seth Asiedu had eight pieces of CAT automobile filters.

Charged with forging trademarks, the three accused persons pleaded not guilty.

The court presided over by Afia Owusua Appiah admitted them to bail in the sum of GHC50,000 with two sureties.

The accused persons are expected to reappear on November 23.

The prosecution led by Chief Inspector Samuel Ahiabor said the complainant Francis Kofi Doku was the West African Director of J. O. Global Ventures, United Kingdom with a subsidiary office at Spintex Accra and a Lawful Attorney of Caterpillar Incorporation and Perkins Holdings Limited.

The prosecution said Emmanuel Appah, the first accused person, was a trader and the owner of Emmanuel Appah Enterprise, Lucky Obinna, the second accused person, was also a trader and the owner of Obi Star Investment Limited, and Seth K. Asiedu, the third accused person, was also a trader and the owner of Psalm A Ventures.

The prosecutor told the court that all the accused persons were dealers in Automobile Spare parts at Avenor near Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

The prosecution said the complainant acting on the powers and instructions of Caterpillar Incorporation and Perkings Holdings Limited, conducted a market survey within Accra this year and detected that some spare parts dealers around Avenor were stocking and distributing CAT and Perkins automobile filters suspected to have been imitated.

It said on June 30, 2023, a team of investigators and personnel from the Regional Police Intelligence Directorate and the complainant proceeded to Avenor and arrested the accused persons.

The prosecution said a search conducted in their respective shops led to the retrieval of 130 pieces of CAT branded automobile filters suspected to be fake from Appah’s shop, 84 pieces of CAT and 184 pieces of Perkins branded automobile filters suspected to be fake from Obinnah’s shop and eight pieces of CAT branded automobile filters suspected to be fake from Asiedu’s shop.

During the investigation, the accused persons said they bought the goods from Benco Company based in Aspanda, Nigeria.

The prosecution said inventory of the goods were taken and copies were furnished to the accused persons.

The prosecutor said the investigation established that the seized goods were not manufactured by Caterpillar Incorporation and Perkins Holdings Limited, as such the trademarks had been forged.

It said efforts were being made to locate their sources of supply.