A shop owner who said she bought illicit tobacco from a 'man with a van' has been prosecuted and fined, town hall bosses have revealed.
After a complaint to trading standards, officers visited Pound Plus, on Old Church Street in Newton Heath, in August, 2021. A single pack of cigarettes in non-standardised packaging was sold by the shop for £5 during a subsequent test purchase.
Three months later, Manchester City Council said officers returned with a tobacco detection dog and carried out a full search. The council said a 'large amount' of illicit tobacco products were found on shelves and behind the counter of the shop.
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"The items did not comply with tobacco regulations, and following testing were confirmed to be counterfeit," said a council spokesperson after the prosecution. "In total, 3,760 cigarettes and 64 packs (3.2kg) of hand rolling tobacco was seized."
The council said when interviewed, shop owner Salma Sarwar Khan, 44, of Birkdale Street, Cheetham Hill, said the sale was the responsibility of an assistant, not hers.
A further complaint was received a month later, followed up by a second visit in February, 2022, when trading standards officers found illicit tobacco concealed behind the counter as well as on shelves and in black bin bags around the shop floor.
A total of 7,460 cigarettes and 98 packs (4.9kg) of hand rolling tobacco was seized.
The council spokesperson said in a statement after Khan was convicted: "When interviewed under caution, Khan admitted the tobacco seized during both trading standards visits belonged to her, and that she gave false information during a previous interview. She also said that the tobacco seized was bought from a 'European man in a white van'.
Khan pleaded guilty at Manchester magistrates court on October 5 to 18 offences under the Trade Marks Act, Tobacco Regulations and Standardised Packaging Regulations.
At a sentencing hearing at the same court on November 17, she was sentenced to a 12-month community order, requiring 10 days of rehabilitation activity to be completed. She was also fined £750, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and pay costs of £2,385.19. A forfeiture and destruction order was also made against the seized goods.
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, deputy leader of Manchester City Council said: "This case proves that in the end the truth will always come out. Through the diligent work of our trading standards team and legal officers the lies of this trader fell apart and their wrongdoing was exposed.
"As a council we are committed entirely to getting illicit tobacco out of our communities and shutting down ways people can purchase it. I would like to encourage anyone who thinks illicit tobacco is being sold to get in touch with us, and help stamp out this type of crime."
