Fake cigarettes worth £20,000 seized from shops in Sutton and Mansfield

Fake cigarettes and tobacco products, with a retail value of about £20,000, were seized from shops in Sutton and Mansfield, a court has heard.
Counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco, with a retail value of about £20,000, were seized by trading standards officers at shops in Sutton and Mansfield.Counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco, with a retail value of about £20,000, were seized by trading standards officers at shops in Sutton and Mansfield.
Counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco, with a retail value of about £20,000, were seized by trading standards officers at shops in Sutton and Mansfield.

Now two men have been successfully prosecuted by Nottinghamshire County Council’s trading standards department.

One of them, counterfeit cigarette salesman Serwan Ali, has been given a suspended prison-sentence.

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Ali, of Bridge Street, Wigan, pleaded guilty at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court in a case that followed a full investigation by trading standards officers.

In one of the cases, salesman Serwan Ali pleaded guilty to possession and supply of counterfeit and illicit tobacco at Friend Mini Market, on Low Street, Sutton.In one of the cases, salesman Serwan Ali pleaded guilty to possession and supply of counterfeit and illicit tobacco at Friend Mini Market, on Low Street, Sutton.
In one of the cases, salesman Serwan Ali pleaded guilty to possession and supply of counterfeit and illicit tobacco at Friend Mini Market, on Low Street, Sutton.

He admitted the possession and supply of counterfeit and illicit tobacco products at Friend Mini Market, Low Street, Sutton in October last year.

Ali was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £600.

In a second case, also heard at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court, Kargar Mushini, of Whitacre Close, Huddersfield, pleaded guilty to four offences.

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These offences related to counterfeit and illicit tobacco found at the Delisha store, on Toothill Lane, Mansfield, which sells Polish and Romanian food.

Mushini was given a 12-month community order and told to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay costs of £200, plus a victim surcharge of £95.

The kind of illicit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco seized are considered by trading standards to be “very dangerous” because youngsters can get hold of them.

A spokesperson said: “They often sell for pocket-money prices, and so they are much easier for children to buy.

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"Packets are priced, on average, at just £4.50, and illegal cigarettes are often sold in singles, making them more appealing to children.

"Selling counterfeit tobacco also deprives the country of taxes to fund vital services like the NHS and undermines public health campaigns to help people quit smoking to protect their health.”

Coun Tom Smith, vice-chairman of the communities committee at the county council, said: “These products are very dangerous for consumers.

"They often won’t self-extinguish, which makes them a huge fire risk. We’ve also seen how the trade in illicit tobacco attracts other crime and anti-social behaviour to an area.

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“We want to send out a message to other unscrupulous traders that we will not tolerate the sale of counterfeit goods.

"We would encourage anyone who has information about the sale of illegal tobacco to report their concerns, anonymously, to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”