A shopkeeper who owns two shops in Wealdstone has been ordered to pay almost £6k by trading standards for selling illegal cigarettes.
The cigarettes were found hidden behind crisp packets, drinks and spices in his shops. He owns both MG Superstore and Myra Supermarket in Wealdstone.
- Brent and Harrow Trading Standards swoop in on reoffending dodgy trader
- Tobacco found hidden behind spices, juice drinks and water bottles
- Kapoor and his business found guilty of 9 offences and ordered to pay £5712.00
Brent and Harrow trading standards officers and officers from HMRC revealed the shop owner (Diljeet Kapoor) was hiding illegal tobacco in his shop. He was ordered to pay in total £5712.00.
Both stores contained the illegal cigarettes in large quantities hidden behind crisp packets and even found in boxes which were labelled as containing bottles of water.
Cllr Varsha Parmar said, cabinet member for environment said: “Kapoor once again tried to beat the law but it again caught up with him. These tobacco products are illegal for a reason – no one knows what is inside them or the damage they can do. The law is there to protect people and those who play with fire will get burned.”
At Willesden Magistrates court, Kapoor pleaded guilty to 9 offences, 4 as a director and 5 as a sole trader. He also pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to 4 offences.
Simon Legg, Head of Service at Brent and Harrow Trading Standards Service said: “Our job is to protect consumers and take action against businesses and traders who try and undercut their completion and flout the rules for their own greed. Kapoor tried to deceive us again, but unfortunately for him our officers are trained and will use sniffer dogs to suss out those who try and hide their illegal wares. He continued to sell dodgy tobacco despite a previous conviction and that is completely unacceptable. We’re going to continue to crack down on those carrying out illegal activities – there is no hiding from us.”
Mr Kapoor was fined £200 for each offence making a total of £1800, a victim surcharge of £170 and ordered to pay costs of £1,326. His company, Rimi Food & Wine ltd was also fined £200 for each offence making a total of £800, a victim surcharge of £80 and ordered to pay costs of £1,536, making the total cost £5712. Read more here.
If you know of a business selling illegal tobacco, report them to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06.
(Source Credit: Harrow Council) (Image Credit: Google).
