Shopkeeper tagged after illicit tobacco found

A shopkeeper has been sentenced after illicit tobacco was seized at his shops by Bury trading standards officers.

Ali Vasilopoulos (aged 21) of East Street, Bury was given a 12-week community order at Bury Magistrates Court on Monday 9 February 2015. He pleaded guilty to five offences under the Trade Marks Act, and was subjected to a tag and a curfew between 7pm and 7am, and ordered to pay £500 court costs.

Bury Council inspectors, assisted by the police and the tobacco detection dog Wagtails, visited Vasilopoulos’s shops at Pound Plus in Bury New Road, Whitefield and Pound Plus in Church Street West, Radcliffe five times during 2013.

On each occasion they uncovered illicit tobacco, and seized a total of 11.25 kg of hand-rolling tobacco, 15,356 cigarettes and 179 cyclones. All items were made the subject of a confiscation order and will be destroyed.

Andrew Johnson, head of trading standards and licensing at Bury Council, said: “This is another example of the success of agencies working together to protect the local economy. It is not just big business that suffers as a result of this type of activity, but honest local retailers struggling to compete with the black market.

“Buying ‘under the counter’ cigarettes and tobacco isn’t a bargain; it means trading with criminals, and tobacco smuggling undermines public health by creating a cheap and unregulated supply. Illicit tobacco smugglers cheat the country of revenue vital to funding essential public services like hospitals and schools.”

Anyone wishing to bring counterfeiting to our attention can contact Trading Standards on 0161 253 5566.

ENDS

Press release issued: 18 February 2015.

Note to editors:

Tobacco smuggling undermines public health by creating a cheap and unregulated supply, operated by and for the benefit of criminals. Also, most smokers buying cheap cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco would be unaware that their purchase may be a counterfeit or smuggled product. HMRC is an active partner in the North of England Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health Campaign. For more information about the programme, go to http://www.illegal-tobacco.co.uk/