The defendants were convicted earlier this year following an investigation by Southwark Council and the Food Standard Agency’s National Food Crime Unit, with a judge at the Inner London Crown Court handing down custodial sentences on 26 August.
The sentencing follows court proceedings on an investigation which began when Southwark officers discovered 1.9 tonnes of Category 3 animal by-products, including whole and cut chickens, lamb’s testicles and beef burgers, being processed for sale into the human food chain at an illegal meat cutting plant in London.
The illegal cutting plant was not registered as a food business, had no running hot water and the meat was prepared in unhygienic conditions.
The by-products were traced back to legitimate food business operators who confirmed the meat had been sent to Fears Animal Byproducts in Somerset for manufacture into pet foods or for safe disposal.
Evidence of criminal conspiracy was then pieced together through analysis of communications data and other evidence which revealed the criminal relationship between the four men.
Anthony Fear, sole director of Fears Animal Products Ltd, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to defraud by placing food not fit for human consumption on the market, while Azar Irshad was sentenced to 35 months in prison for conspiracy to defraud, failure to comply with Regulation 19 of the Food Safety & Hygiene Regulations relating to unapproved premises and placing food not fit for human consumption on the market.
Fear has been disqualified from acting as a company director for six years, and Irshad was given a criminal behaviour order for an indefinite period, prohibiting any involvement in the food industry.
Elsewhere, Mark Hooper was sentenced to 24 months in prison, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, while Ali Afzal was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 21 months, 150 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £5,000. Hooper also pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges relating to a separate matter in Aylesbury and received a concurrent 24-month sentence.
Fears Animal Products Ltd will be sentenced in 2026 following the conclusion of confiscation proceedings, where the costs for Fear, Hooper and Irshad will also be determined.
Hooper, Irshad and Afzal pleaded guilty in hearings held in January 2025, but Fear pleaded not guilty and stood trial, which concluded on 27 March 2025 with guilty verdicts for both him and his business.
Commenting on the sentences, head of the National Food Crime Unit Andrew Quinn said: “The case demonstrates the serious risk posed to consumer safety when individuals deliberately disregard food safety regulations by putting meat unfit for human consumption back into the food chain.
“This successful prosecution highlights the vital importance of collaboration between the NFCU and local authorities like Southwark, Somerset and Devon councils in protecting consumers from food crime and we are grateful for the tireless work of all who played a role in securing this outcome.
“We remain committed to our work identifying, investigating, and prosecuting those who seek to exploit our food system for financial gain at the expense of public safety.”
Councillor Natasha Ennin, cabinet member for community safety and neighbourhoods at Southwark Council, added: “This sentencing marks the end of a long and determined investigation to hold food criminals to account. These individuals operated with complete disregard for public health, motivated solely by greed.
“Consumers have a right to trust the safety of their food. We are grateful to our officers and to the NFCU for their tireless efforts in exposing this criminal enterprise.
“The sentences handed down today send a clear message: food crime will not be tolerated.”
