A Spalding shopkeeper has been prosecuted in court after being caught out in the ‘vile trade’ of selling illegal cigarettes.
Lincolnshire Trading Standards has secured a prosecution against Ali Idris Khader, 52, of Ewetree Drive, Leicester, relating to the sale of products from Nasz Market in Spalding.
Officers carried out a test purchase at the Sheep Market store in February 2023. After being sold counterfeit illegal cigarettes, officers returned to raid the premises and seize the illegal products a few days later.
A second test purchase in May — and further raid in June 2023 — led to the service applying for a closure order on the store in June 2023 — forcing the closure of the premises for three months.
Following the operation, Khader pleaded guilty to offences relating to proceeds of crime, tobacco regulation offences, and trademark offences.
At Lincoln Magistrates Court on August 9 2024 he was sentenced to 13 months custody, suspended for 12 months. He will also have to carry out 25 hours of rehabilitation activity, and faces a curfew between 8pm and 6am daily for four months.
Senior Lincolnshire Trading Standards officer Kimberley Marshall said: “We are committed to tackling the sale and supply of illicit tobacco.
“Some people may not fully realise the seriousness of this crime, and that these products are often unsafe knockoffs, made in unhygienic conditions, and can pose a real fire safety risk. The illicit tobacco trade can also fund other organised crime.
“People in Lincolnshire have died in house fires caused by these types of cigarettes, and shops selling threaten the livelihoods of legitimate law-abiding businesses.
“These are not shops that sell a few cigarettes or vapes ‘on the side’. Instead, they exist solely to supply illegal goods. The shops are operated by criminals and out-of-county organised crime groups.
“We will continue to work with Lincolnshire Police and other partner agencies to combat this illegal trade of counterfeit, unsafe products.”
In prosecuting, the judge noted that Khader was knowingly selling the goods that presented an increased risk of fire and risk to life.
He said: “If you run a business that sells goods to the public it is your responsibility to make sure they are legitimate and fit for consumption. You were sourcing goods that were clearly not legit, and arranging for them to be sold as if they were.”
He also said he wanted to deter others from such offending and protect the public from ‘this vile trade’.
The court ordered that the seized goods be forfeited to Lincolnshire Trading Standards, and they will now be destroyed.
If you have any information about the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes in Lincolnshire, you can report this to the Citizens Advice consumer service at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer or by calling 0808 223 1133.
