Illegal tobacco sales land shopkeeper in court
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25th May 2021
A Salford shopkeeper continued to sell illegal and counterfeit cigarettes despite two previous raids by trading standards officers, a court has heard.
Officers found counterfeit cigarettes and empty cartons at the Little Hulton shop on the day officers went to caution him for the two previous offences.
Shujat Ali, owner of Super Discount Store, Hulton District Centre, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and the Trade Marks Act 1994 for possession of counterfeit cigarettes when he appeared at Salford and Manchester Magistrates Court.
The court heard that trading standards officers and a specialist dog handler visited the business on 29 May 2019 and seized illicit tobacco worth £7,000. They recovered 11,000 cigarettes, 7,780 of which were counterfeit and 107 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco, six of which were counterfeit.