Garage owners and two MOT testers, who worked at the Kyhber and Berbice Garage at Endsleigh Industrial Estate in Southall, have been sentenced for conspiring to fraudulently issue MOT certificates.

Following a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) investigation, it was discovered that MOT certificates were being issued for cars that had never been tested on the premises.

Shorab Jadunandan and Sanjay Spolia, who were the registered owners of the garage, employed Graham Cahill and Olayinka Fadayomi as MOT testers. All pleaded guilty to the offence.

Further investigation revealed that more than 4,000 MOT certificates had been issued by the MOT tester Graham Cahill even though he had not worked for the company since 2003. Cahill has also worked as a lecturer in a further education college.

As a direct result Kyhber and Berbice Garage lost its authorisation to carry out MOT tests.

DVSA investigations continued after a new vehicle testing station, Sovereign Motor Service, opened at the same premises and it became obvious that MOTs continued to be carried out in an improper manner.

DVSA head of investigations Andrew Rice said: “The annual MOT is an important aspect of road safety and DVSA will pursue and prosecute those who defraud the system by issuing pass certificates without carrying out the test. This case sends a strong message that there can be serious consequences including a prison sentence and a criminal record.”

Jadunandan and Fadayomi were each sentenced to 18 months imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court. Cahill was sentenced to 16 months and Spolia six months imprisonment, suspended for two years. Cahill was also ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work.

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