Blitz sees trio of Worcester traders hit over illegal cigarettes - The Worcester Observer

Blitz sees trio of Worcester traders hit over illegal cigarettes

Worcester Editorial 10th Aug, 2022   0

ILLEGAL cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco were seized from three Worcester shops as trading standards chiefs revealed in excess of 200,000 counterfeit cigarettes have been removed from county shops.

The former owner of the European Mini Market on St Johns was among a trio of traders taken to court following the latest trading standards crackdown.

Alan Rasoul Osman pleaded guilty to 13 offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994, Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 and Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.

He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 60 hours unpaid work and ordered to £2,785 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £95. This shop has subsequently changed hands and is now under new ownership.




Meanwhile Palawan Morabab trading as Red and Black Supermarket on Foregate Street pleaded guilty to nine offences under the acts mentioned above.

He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 60 hours unpaid work and ordered to £2,671 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £95. This shop too, is now under new ownership.


Finally, Mohammed Ali Kamal trading as Yasmin Supermarket on Lowesmoor pleaded guilty to 19 offences with three further offences being taken into consideration again under the same acts mentioned above.

Kamal was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 220 hours unpaid work and ordered to £2,704 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £95.

In all three cases the offending tobacco products were to be forfeited and destroyed.

Coun Marcus Hart, cabinet member for Communities at Worcestershire County Council said: “Selling counterfeit tobacco deprives the country of taxes to fund vital public services like the NHS and undermines public health campaigns to help people quit smoking to protect their health.

“Illegal tobacco is often half the price of legitimate products, and this fact alone encourages people to continue to smoke.”

Anyone with information about the sale of illegal tobacco in Worcestershire can report it to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 or via the Trading Standards website.

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