A SHOP owner has been ordered to pay more than £3,000 after counterfeit tobacco and vapes were seized from his store.

 

Illegal products including counterfeit rolling tobacco and vapes were seized after Thurrock Council trading standards officers visited Mellow Yellow Vape Shack in March last year.

An officer posing as a customer at the store, also known as Euro Market, was sold counterfeit tobacco during a test purchase.

Diyar Yousif, 44, was ordered to pay £1,132 in fines, £1,963 costs and a victim surcharge of £772 at Basildon Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after admitting five offences including failing to comply with tobacco and vape regulations.

Victoria Holloway, councillor for place and the environment, said: “Counterfeit tobacco and vapes can have a devastating effect on our communities, and present a much greater health risk to the public. Our trading standards team works hard to keep residents safe from illegal and harmful products.”

The action against Yousif, of Homemead Close, Kent, was part of joint HMRC and National Trading Standards initiative Operation Cece, which has been working to seize illicit tobacco since January 2021.

This prosecution follows similar recent successful Thurrock trading standards prosecutions which have seen other vape shop owners fined for selling illicit products and a food wholesaler fined for selling contaminated cooking oil.

Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said: “The trade in illegal tobacco harms communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law.

"Having removed 46 million illegal cigarettes, 12,600kg of hand rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, Operation Cece, the National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade.”

Report concerns about counterfeit products to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 or via thurrock.gov.uk/tradingstandards