Posted on Monday 26th September 2022
Staffordshire Trading Standards Officers
An off licence owner from Newcastle-under-Lyme has been given a 12-month Community Order for selling illicit tobacco. He was also ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work and pay costs of £2,000.
Shopkeeper Abbas Taher, owner of Castle Walk Off-Licence, pleaded guilty to 22 trading standards offences at a previous hearing at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 1 August 2022.
Officers from Staffordshire County Council seized illegal cigarettes and tobacco during 2 inspections in 2021, with a street value of just under £5000. The seizures were part of an ongoing operation to combat the sale and supply of illegal tobacco.
The 40-year-old from (Stoke-on-Trent/Hanley) was selling packs of 20 cigarettes for as little as £4.50 per pack when officers raided the shop.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member with responsibility for trading standards at Staffordshire County Council said:
“The sale of illicit tobacco is a crime which damages communities and harms legitimate businesses and we will take action against traders who knowingly sell it. Today’s sentence should act as a reminder to others selling such products that we take the issue seriously.
“Our officers continue to work hard to combat the sale of all illicit goods, especially alcohol and tobacco which can be extremely harmful. The team do rely on intelligence from members of the public and businesses and anyone with information should contact the team.”
In the UK, it is estimated that about one in 10 of all cigarettes and half of all hand-rolling tobacco are not duty paid. The illegal trade in tobacco has strong links to organised crime and illicit tobacco has a devastating effect on health.
These products are also widely available at low cost and this undermines efforts to discourage smoking through higher pricing of legitimate tobacco.
During recent years, Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards have uncovered over three million illegal Cigarettes and almost 200 kg of illegal Hand Rolling Tobacco with an estimated street value of £1,026,476.
People should report the sale of illicit cigarettes to the Fight the Fakes hotline – 01785 330356 or www.staffordshire.gov.uk/fakes