Wolverhampton store owner jailed for selling £200,000-worth illegal tobacco

A Wolverhampton store owner has been jailed for selling illegal tobacco worth an estimated £200,000.

Zemnako Azad Salih, owner of Sam Euro Style store on Newhampton Road West in Whitmore Reans, has given a custodial sentence of 28 months on 15 January for selling illegal and counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco since 2014.

Trading Standards seized around 400,000 illegal cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco weighing 50 kilograms, totalling to an estimated £200,000, during three inspections at the store in 2014 and 2015.

Salih was arrested by Kent Police in June 2019 as he attempted to make his way out of the country via Dover.

He pleaded guilty to the charges on 20 November 2019.

“I hope [the] outcome sends out a warning to those who continue to fund this criminal activity, that we are serious about clamping down on the sale of these illegal and dangerous products,” said Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for City Environment at City of Wolverhampton Council.