TRADE Department inspectors on Phuket are making surprise checks to ensure consumers are not being ripped off in the packaging and pricing of essential items.

Their visits to stores and supermarkets began on May 15 with Supercheap and Big C and will continue unannounced at other major outlets.

The Director of the Department of Trade, Tada Pichayaporn, said: ''We have to make sure that the increase in the price of petrol and transporting products to Phuket does not lead to customers being cheated.''

Phuket imports virtually all goods and the low season is usually the time when unscrupulous people attempted to make illegal profits, Khun Tada added.

Tourists are especially vulnerable.

Standard prices on essential food items should continue to be enforced, he said.

The most common methods of cheating were through false labels on packaged meat and vegetables, overstating the weight and charging too much, or through underweight packaging (for example, four-and-a-half kilos of sugar in a five-kilo bag.).

Scales and balances also needed to be checked, he said.

If you discover a price cheat, call the Department of Trade on 076 212017 or 081 9797627