Liverpool retailer charged over illegal cigarettes trade

A shopkeeper in Liverpool, who was caught selling more than 47,000 illegal cigarettes after an inspection at his store and tried to flee, has been charged with ten offences this week.

According to local reports, retailer Salih Ali tried to run away from Trading Standards officers when they visited his shop The Baltic Store on Whitby Road in Ellesmere Port by fleeing via the shop’s back door. He was stopped with bags in his hand which were later found to contain 6,500 cigarettes.

A total of 47,740 individual cigarettes were seized along with £12,685 in cash, found hidden in black plastic bags under a bed and behind the sink in a bathroom. The packs were illegal for sale in the UK, as they did not contain a health warning in English and the appearance of the packs was incorrect. Following a further examination of some of the cigarettes that appeared genuine and for the UK market, they were found to be counterfeit, reports stated.

Ali appeared before Chester Crown Court this week following early guilty pleas at magistrates court. Prosecuting for Cheshire West and Chester Trading Standards, Ryan Rothwell told the court Ali was charged with a total of 10 offences- three offences of possessing counterfeit cigarettes for sale, contrary to the Trade Marks Act 1994; six charges of possession for sale of incorrectly labelled and packaged cigarettes, contrary to various tobacco labelling regulations, and one charge of possession of criminal property, £12,685, contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Ali has been sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and 200 hours of community service.