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Melbourne couple become first to be fined under Victoria's commercial solarium laws.

A Melbourne husband and wife have become the first people to be convicted of running an illegal tanning salon in Victoria.

Clare and Jason Zahra were fined $68,500 for operating the salon from a business and then a house in Bundoora.

The pair pleaded guilty to separate charges of breaking the seals on tanning units in a Heidelberg shop.

Four commercial tanning units were seized from the Zahras in October last year.

Ms Zahra also pleaded guilty to providing false information, and Mr Zahra admitted to hindering a Department of Health and Human Services officer in the course of duties last year.

They were ordered to pay the department $10,000 in costs.

Commercial tanning was banned in Victoria in 2014.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said undercover surveillance was being used to crack down on rogue operators.

“We’ve got a number of people that we are keeping a very close eye on to ensure that they are not attempting to flout the law,” she said.

“But we also want to send a message to the Victorian community — don’t use solarium machines, they can cause cancer.”

Earlier this year, Ms Hennessey said “hundreds and hundreds” of people had been charged for providing commercial tanning services since the ban was put in place.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

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