Ms Magdalena Anna Witemberg of Bradford was prosecuted at Bradford Magistrates Court for having in her possession with intent to supply more than 7,800 illegal cigarettes and 900g of illegal hand rolling tobacco.
Ms Witemberg pleaded guilty to section 9 of the Fraud Act 2006 and was sentenced to a community order of 50 hours of unpaid work, to be fulfilled over 12 months. She was ordered to make a contribution of £500 to prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £60.
On 4th November 2015, officers from WYTSS carried out an inspection of the retail premises known as Frykas, 11 Sticker Lane, BD4 8DP, Bradford, where illegal tobacco was found concealed inside a sports bag in the back store room.
Ms Witemberg was arrested and interviewed under caution on the same day, where she confirmed that the products belonged to her and she was selling them at far lower than the recommended retail price. She also said she regretted her actions and would not commit this offence again. She was released on police bail.
On the 8th December 2015 a further visit was made to Frykas to carry out an inspection to see if Ms Witemberg was still selling illegal tobacco. During that inspection, despite being on police bail and under investigation for the sale of illegal tobacco, more illegal tobacco was found for sale at the business premise.
All the tobacco products from both inspections were seized and examined, and were found to be foreign labelled and non UK duty paid therefore it did not bear the statutory health warning as prescribed by the Tobacco Products (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale) (Safety) Regulations 2002. The absence of these warnings is an offence under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
In addition there was no statutory A3 notice on display stating ‘It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18’.
Ms Witemberg answered her bail on the 7th January 2016 and was interviewed under caution where she confirmed that the products from the second inspection also belonged to her.
The street value of the total tobacco products seized is approximately £1,600 based on £4.00 per tobacco product.
David Lodge, Head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said “All tobacco – both legal and illegal – kills half of all long term smokers. Children and young smokers are often targeted by people who sell illegal cigarettes, making it even easier for them to get hooked on smoking. The people making money out of this do not care who they sell to.”
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