A GlOUCESTER shopkeeper appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on August 27 to be sentenced  for  selling illegal tobacco on 27 occasions.

Kaiwan Poore had pleaded guilty to the offences at a previous hearing committed while he was the owner of Polski Sklep off licence and delicatessen in Barton Street, Gloucester.

The court was told that he had continued to sell illegal tobacco from that shop while it was under investigation by Gloucestershire County Council trading standards officers, and continued to do so even after he had received documents summonsing him to court for his actions.

Mr Poore has been given advice about the consequences of selling illegal tobacco products by trading standards officers shortly after he took over ownership of the shop, advice he subsequently ignored.

Trading Standards received reports from the public that counterfeit and unlabelled tobacco was being sold from Polski Sklep. This was confirmed by a number of undercover purchases and resulted in a raid on the shop in July 2014. A total of 555 packs of cigarettes and 10.5 kg of hand rolling tobacco was seized, all of which was illegal. Most of this was hidden in a car parked close to the shop in an attempt to avoid detection by Trading Standards.

The total value of this seizure, if genuine, would be £7600 but it would have been sold for in excess of £4000 as illegal product.

Mr Poore was sentenced to a 12 month community order of 120 hours unpaid work and a fine of £5400, together with £4000 prosecution costs, a £120 victim surcharge and a £180 court charge.

Will Windsor-Clive, cabinet member for fire, planning and infrastructure, said: “This is an excellent result for our trading standards team. Illegal tobacco does a lot of harm to legitimate businesses and individuals, as well as making it more affordable for children to start smoking.

“We will continue to work hard to stamp out the sale of illegal tobacco in the county.”

Andrew Gravells, cabinet member for public health, said: “Cheap and illegal tobacco manufacturers blatantly flout Government standards, which means there could really be anything mixed in with the tobacco, which is a major public health concern.

“That’s why Gloucestershire County Council’s public health and trading standards teams are working together to help tackle the problem.”

If residents have any concerns about illegal tobacco products being sold, they can contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06, or use the ‘report a rogue link’ on the consumers page of the trading standards website at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/tradingstandards.