36 Year Old Dewsbury Trader fined for Trading in Illicit Tobacco

Hishyar Gully, of Crown Flatts Way, Leeds Road was sentenced at Kirklees Magistrates Court for having in possession with intent to supply 607 illicit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco products with a street value of £1821.

Following a complaint received by West Yorkshire Trading Standards (WYTSS), an officer of the service carried out a test purchase at Biedronka, 490 Huddersfield Road, Dewsbury and was sold a pouch of Golden Virginia Hand Rolling Tobacco for £3.00 which was later confirmed as counterfeit.

Officers then attended the premises as part of Operation Quit, in March 2015 and with the assistance of tobacco detection dogs, uncovered a hydraulic system concealed behind a mirror in the toilet area of the shop as well as a mechanical concealment within the shop counter, both concealments were lined with cheap and illicit tobacco products.  Once the tobacco products had been seized, officers arranged for the tobacco products to be expertly examined in order to separate the genuine from the counterfeit.

Officers attended the premises again in April and July 2015 following further complaints received by the service that illicit tobacco products were still being sold from the premises.  Almost 150 tobacco products were found in various coats, jackets and bags around the premises, all of which were subsequently seized.  On all three occasions Gully also failed to display a statutory notice stating, ‘It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18’ in a prominent position where the statement is readily visible contrary to Section 4 (1) of the Children and young Person (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991.

A large quantity of the tobacco products seized such as Amber Leaf & Golden Virginia Hand Rolling tobacco and Mayfair cigarettes were confirmed as counterfeit which is an offence under Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 and the remaining items were a combination of tobacco products for a non UK domestic market and black market cigarettes such as Jin Ling and Pect (Fest).  These tobacco products did not bear any of the statutory health warnings, ‘Smoking Kills’ or ‘Smoking seriously harms you and others around you’.  The absence of these warnings is an offence under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

During interview Gully stated that he was unaware of the hydraulic and mechanical concealments as he had only recently taken over the shop and purchased the counter a few days prior to the visit by Trading Standards.  Gully pleaded not guilty to all offences which led to a trial whereby Gully again stated he was unaware of the concealments and that several people had keys to the premises therefore the tobacco products could have been brought in to the shop at any time. Gullys’s due diligence as a business owner and lack thereof was questioned during the trial to which he did not respond.  It was stated that as a business owner he should be aware of what takes place within the shop and ensure that he is compliant with all goods and groceries he sells. 

Gully was found guilty and sentenced to 6 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months plus a 200 hour community order for fraudulent trading.  Gully was ordered to pay full costs of £4,391 and all seized tobacco products were forfeited for destruction.  The Trade Marks offences resulted in a sentence of 2 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months.

Councillor Ken Smith of the West Yorkshire Trading Standards Committee said, “Although a lot has been achieved, illegal tobacco is still a problem. While all smoking kills, illegal tobacco is a danger to health, particularly to young people, as it is sold at pocket money prices making it easy for children to take up the habit.”

David Lodge, Head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards said “We are committed to the fight against illegal tobacco. By taking tough action and working with local authorities, partners and local communities we will continue taking illegal tobacco off the streets.  We follow up all intelligence and complaints received and encourage the public to inform us of any traders in their area.”