Liam Dooney, 53, from Wigan received a custodial sentence following an investigation by the Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU).
Dooney, who had previously operated a food cold-storage company in the Wigan area, was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment for handling stolen goods worth more than £500,000 at Bolton Crown Court yesterday (27 January 2026).
He will serve at least half of his sentence in custody, and has also been disqualified as a director for seven years.
This follows on from Dooney’s guilty plea to handling stolen goods earlier this year. He had subsequently been granted bail by the Bolton crown court until September, after which he was due to return for sentencing.
The NFCU had been altered of series of offences in which fraudsters posed as legitimate food businesses in the UK to secure deliveries of food from overseas suppliers and one UK-based supplier.
This involved cloned details from McDonald’s franchises in order to steal cargo – in this case, chicken and turkey.
A total of 16.8 metric tonnes of stolen poultry was recovered. However, due to a loss in traceability this was later downgraded to pet food.
“We are pleased with this custodial sentence as it shows as there is no place in the food industry for any form of criminal activity,” said Andrew Quinn, head of the FSA’s NFCU.
“We work with partners, supporting industry to meet their responsibilities and minimise the risk of any food theft resulting in food fraud. This complex case investigation has included Greater Manchester Police, Wigan Council, and the Crown Prosecution Service.
“Food businesses should be vigilant to the risk of food fraud and safeguard against this, and alert to the potential of being offered stolen goods. Food businesses can help ensure they don’t become victims of theft by doing their due diligence with suppliers and customers.
“We’ve advised hundreds of businesses on how to increase their resilience to fraud so people can trust the food they buy is safe, and what it says it is.”
Theft should be reported to the police and if you suspect food fraud, report it to Food Crime Confidential on food.gov.uk/report or call 0800 028 1180 (0207 276 8787 for non-UK mobiles and calls).
