Police say the owner of three Kitchen Queen appliance stores imported upwards of 300 tandoori ovens from India and then affixed counterfeit safety certificates to them before selling them to unwitting customers at regular retail prices.

According to police, the suspect brought the large clay ovens into the country and then added fittings to them so they could be hooked up to natural gas lines.

Some of the fittings, however, were made using pipes intended to carry water and not natural gas, posing a significant safety risk.

Police also allege that the suspect assembled some of the smaller ovens himself, using parts imported from India.

“I wouldn’t want one in my house,” Det. Rob Whalen told reporters on Friday. “Basically you have a constant flow of natural gas into these appliances without any safety features, so if a fire starts it could become an uncontrolled fire or a possible explosion.”

About 200 ovens still unaccounted for

Police began their investigation into the ovens after the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), acting on a tip, purchased one of them and determined that it did not meet Canadian safety standards and was outfitted with a fake CSA sticker.

Earlier this month, members of the Criminal Investigations Bureau then executed search warrants at Kitchen Queen locations on Gerrard Street, Danforth Avenue and Markham Road and seized about three full-sized ovens and 15 to 20 smaller ones.

According to Whalen, police have since tracked down a total of 100 ovens but believe 200 more could still be out there.

In an effort to track down those ovens, the detective said that police are currently in the process of reviewing documents taken during the execution of the search warrants for information about customers.

“Our main thing is getting these ovens out of businesses,” he said. “As we get word of where they are, we are attending restaurants, turning gas off to restaurants, having appliance disconnected and usually within a couple hours the restaurant is back up in operation with a new approved and safe oven.”

Whalen said that it is his belief that the restaurants and homeowners that purchased the ovens were not aware that they had counterfeit safety certifications.

Gautham Mashetty, 57, is charged with possession of property obtained by crime and passing off wares.

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