A SECRET stash of illegal cigarettes hidden in a Rugby convenience store has earned its owner a fine of over £4,500.
Shop and Save, at 23 Church Street, was one of the stores raided by Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards earlier this year.
Officers, supported by police and sniffer dogs, searched the store and discovered a hidden compartment above a toilet containing over 4000 cigarettes and 2250g of hand rolling tobacco.
At Nuneaton Magistrates Court on October 10, the owner of Shop and Save – Imad Ali Mohammed, 34, of Eagle Street, Coventry – pleaded guilty to nine Trade Marks Act and 16 safety related Consumer Protection Act offences.
He was fined £500 for the supply of tobacco products that did not comply with the Tobacco Products Regulations and £500 for the Trade Marks Act offences. He was also ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge and prosecution costs of £3477.20, making a total of fine and costs of £4577.20.
All seized cigarettes and tobacco were forfeited and will be destroyed.
In mitigation, Mr Murray (defending) stated that Mr Mohammed had no previous convictions and the secret compartment came with the shop when he purchased the business.
He further said the defendant had regular customers who would ask for foreign imported cigarettes which were not openly on display, so no-one was mistakenly buying them as genuine and his intention was to clear the stock and to reassess the business at that stage.
Warwickshire County Council community safety spokesman Coun John Horner said: “All smoking kills but the sale of illegal tobacco, often at pocket money prices, makes it easier for children and young people to buy these products.”
Chair of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee Coun Philip Johnson added: “Warwickshire Trading Standards will continue to take action to stop the sale of illegal tobacco in Warwickshire and protect the health of young people.
“I strongly urge anyone with information about the illegal sale of cigarettes to report it on our confidential fakes hotline on 0300 303 2636”.
Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/consumersafety for more information about the work of Warwickshire Trading Standards and Consumer Protection.
