Trader fined GH¢12,000 over counterfeit Amuzu Bitters
Jeanice Mensah was convicted on her own plea by the court, presided over by Vida Achiaa Yeboah.
A 53-year-old trader has been fined by the Asokwa Circuit Court Two after admitting that she dealt in counterfeit Amuzu Bitters and forged trademarks.
Jeanice Mensah was convicted on her own plea by the court, presided over by Vida Achiaa Yeboah.
She was sentenced to a fine of 1,000 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢12,000.
If she fails to pay, she will serve two months’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The court convicted her on two charges: dealing in counterfeit regulated products and forging trademarks.
Although the court imposed separate fines for the two offences, it ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
Presenting the facts, Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Ofori said the complainant, Prince Nkansah, is the Operations Manager of Amuzu Bitters Company and lives at Santasi in Kumasi.
Mensah is a trader resident at Asawasi.
According to the prosecution, the company had for several months received information that counterfeit versions of its product were being sold by Mensah.
Management of the company then carried out its own checks.
On February 4, 2026, at about 2:20 p.m., the complainant and another staff member visited Mensah’s shop at Ashtown.
They allegedly found boxes of products suspected to be fake Amuzu Bitters.
The matter was reported to the Manhyia Police Station, leading to Mensah’s arrest.
Police later retrieved 45 cartons from her possession.
Each carton contained 12 bottles of suspected counterfeit Amuzu Bitters bearing forged Ghana Revenue Authority tax stamps and trademark labels.
During investigations, samples of the genuine product and the suspected fake product were sent to the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Food and Drugs Authority for verification.
Reports from the two institutions confirmed that the tax stamps and trademark labels on the seized products were counterfeit.
In her caution statement, Mensah admitted ownership of the products.
She told investigators that the items had been supplied to her by a man she could identify if she saw him again.
However, she could not provide information that would lead to his arrest.
She was later charged and arraigned before the court.
