A Salford shopkeeper has been fined and had thousands of pounds seized for selling counterfeit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco which did not have health warnings on the packaging as required by law.
Tasawar Hussain, 31, of Liverpool Road, Eccles, was fined £1500 in court costs and a victim surcharge of £95 at Tameside Magistrates Court on Monday 28 March 2022 after breaching Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 on two counts and Regulation 5 of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 on one count.
A 12-month community order was also imposed on Mr Hussain and he was sentenced to 160 hours of unpaid work and ten days of rehabilitation.
The case was brought by Salford City Council’s Trading Standards team after officers seized almost 13,000 counterfeit cigarettes and 49 pouches of counterfeit tobacco at Xtra Local in Liverpool Road, Eccles on February 4, 2020.
Almost £5,000 in cash was seized from the premises under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 on suspicion of being obtained from or to be used for illegal activity and the money was later subject to a forfeiture order to the council.
Magistrates heard that Mr Hussain, who had identified himself as the owner of the business, repeatedly denied during the inspection that he had personally sold the tobacco. After illegal tobacco was found in the till area on inspection, Mr Hussain denied that there was any more on the premises, however officers soon discovered a quantity of counterfeit hand rolling tobacco.
Mr Hussain was then given another opportunity to disclose whether there was any more illegal tobacco on the premises before the search continued. After initially stating there was not, he then admitted there was and revealed a further two bags containing counterfeit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco.
Following the inspection, the goods seized were confirmed to be counterfeit.
It is a criminal offence to sell illegal tobacco products. If you know where illegal tobacco is being sold, you can report anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at keep-it-out.co.uk.
John Searle, Director of Place at Salford City Council said: “Despite Mr Hussain’s repeated denial that these goods were sold on the premises, it is clear that given the quantity that was seized by the team that the tobacco was there to be sold to the public.
“Smoking causes heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, 16 different types of cancer and lung disease. Every day across our city region, 14 people die too soon from a smoking-related illness. Cheaper-priced illegal cigarettes make it easier for children to start and harder for smokers to quit this deadly habit.
“I am pleased with the result that our team was able to achieve with this prosecution and we will continue to do our utmost to ensure these products are kept off our streets and that those who sell them are brought to justice.”
