A Southend retailer has been given suspended jail term for selling and storing illegal tobacco and vapes.
Dana Kamal, of Fort Road, Northampton, was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment suspended for 1 year, plus £3000, at Southend Magistrates' Court on 20 November, after pleading guilty to 43 offences relating to the sale and storage of illegal cigarettes, counterfeit hand-rolling tobacco, and non-compliant vaping devices.
Kamal ran The Vape Store at 69 Southchurch Road, Southend, when officers visited in June 2024. Test purchases revealed the shop was selling illegal products, with large quantities being stored in two vehicles parked behind the premises in Essex Street.
Using a specialist sniffer-dog team, officers uncovered a hidden shelving system inside one vehicle containing a large stock of illegal vapes. Most of these disposable vapes were capable of delivering up to 15,000 puffs - far exceeding the UK legal limit.
The seized cigarettes were counterfeit, smuggled into the UK to avoid excise duty, and failed safety tests designed to prevent fires.
In total, officers seized 25,000 cigarettes, 325 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco, and 1,000 vapes, worth around £45,000. Both vehicles used for storage were also seized and crushed.
Southend-on-Sea City Council said Kamal repeatedly ignored contact attempts from Trading Standards during the investigation.
“This successful prosecution shows that we take illegal trading in Southend extremely seriously. These counterfeit products are dangerous, harm people's health, and undermine honest local businesses,” Cllr Martin Terry, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, said.
“I want to personally commend our Trading Standards officers for their outstanding professionalism and persistence in this investigation. Their work has protected residents, removed harmful products from circulation, and delivered a clear message that such criminal activity will not be tolerated in our city.”