Inspectors found stash in oven at Chilli Spice & Wine in The Vale
Around 8,700 cigarettes with an estimated value of £3,000 were found in oven
|
A shop owner in Acton has been fined by £3,000 after being found selling cigarettes illegally even after receiving a warning from Ealing’s trading standards officers
Mr Mohammad Arshad, the proprietor of Chilli Spice & Wine in The Vale was at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Tuesday (14 December) where he pleaded guilty to eight offences.
The court heard that trading standards had visited the business in May 2021 where they seized illicit tobacco and alcohol. Mr Arshad was warned by Ealing’s trading standards and licensing team that further activity could result in him being prosecuted.
In July 2021, officers returned and inspected the shop once more and discovered a large amount of illicit tobacco that had been concealed in an industrial oven. The items were considered illicit as they were not in the standardised packaging required by UK law.
Illicit tobacco is cigarettes and hand rolled tobacco that is counterfeit or has been smuggled into Britain without tax having been paid.
In total, 8,760 cigarettes were seized from Mr Arshad’s shop and vehicle, with an estimated street value of £3,000.
Mr Arshad was fined £2,400 (£300 per offence), plus costs of £842 and a victim surcharge of £190, bringing the total cost to £3,432.
In addition, his licence to sell alcohol on the premises has been reviewed and the licensing committee have applied further conditions.
Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for decent living incomes said, “The supply of illicit tobacco will not be tolerated and we will continue to use every enforcement technique at our disposal to disrupt this activity.
“It’s time that people get the message that whilst it may be cheaper in the short term, there are serious consequences to people’s health as many of these products to do not comply with UK safety and consumer regulations.
“No cigarette is good for you but the illegal tobacco market and the availability of cheap cigarettes make it harder for smokers to quit and remain smoke-free.”
“We’re pleased that our trading standards team has brought another successful prosecution. We will continue to work hard to ensure businesses in Ealing trade safely and fairly by ensuring that local businesses are aware of their legal obligations.”
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
December 29, 2021
