£177k of tobacco found in cupboards
Hull has been branded the “capital of counterfeit cigarettes” after it was revealed that nowhere else in the country has a worse problem for fake tobacco products than the city. A raid on a barber’s shop uncovered a huge hidden haul of thousands of secretly-stored illegal products that were potentially worth a highly lucrative sales bonanza of more than £177,500, Hull Crown Court heard.
Senol Didii, 21, who had been living in Hull, admitted five offences involving possessing or supplying cigarettes, tobacco products or e-cigarettes which did not comply with labelling requirements and health warnings, on November 19. Harry Bradford, prosecuting, said that trading standards officers from Hull City Council went to the City Barbers shop in Anlaby Road, west Hull, for a tobacco inspection.
A large number of illegal cigarettes and tobacco products were found in cupboards. Two members of staff were there, including a manager, but they denied any knowledge of the illegal products.
There were 112,700 cigarettes, 2,274 pouches of rolling tobacco and 140 e-cigarettes. The total potential retail value of the haul was put at £177,523.
Didii’s name was given by one of the other men as working at the shop during the period of time involved. Didii had worked at the shop for only a short time.
“It’s believed that he was probably at a very low level on a very high ladder,” said Mr Bradford. Judge Mark Bury said: “It looks like he might be taking a fall for others.”
Didii, who is Romanian, told investigators that he was offered £300 to take the goods and store them. He said: “I have made a mistake. I knew it was wrong but I needed the money.”
Hull City Council employed two full-time tobacco control officers and their sole role was to enter premises and seize illegal goods. The sums of money that could be made were “huge” and it was regarded as a “low-risk” trade, said Mr Bradford.
Last year in Hull, there were 345 seizures to the value of nearly £500,000 and this year alone, there had been at least 219 seizures already, with a value of £2.7m.
Judge Bury said: “Hull is the capital of counterfeit cigarettes. I am told that nowhere in the United Kingdom has a greater prevalence of counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes and vapes than Hull.”
Jane Rapin, mitigating, said that Didii worked at the barbers shop to gain experience and he was offered money for holding some of the boxes of cigarettes and tobacco seized. “He said ‘Yes’ without considering the consequences,” said Miss Rapin.
“He simply did not think about it beyond the fact that he was offered money to store some of the boxes. His understanding at the time was very limited. He has stayed out of trouble since this offending.
“He moved to Hull to live with his brother-in-law at the time. He was residing between Middlesbrough and Hull but he is now living back in Middlesbrough.”
Didii had been working full-time car valeting at a dealership there. He had no previous convictions.
Judge Bury said of the illegal goods seizures: “I don’t accept the assertions by the owners of this barbers shop that they had nothing to do with it.” He told Didii: “Apparently it is quite common for young men such as you to be expected to take the blame for significant amounts of illegal tobacco and associated products being stored at these outlets.
“You might be one of these people whose actual involvement in this enterprise is reasonably limited. However, this sort of activity is prevalent. There has to be an element of deterrence about this sentence.”
Counterfeit tobacco products posed an even greater health risk to users than legitimate ones, the genuine manufacturers were not getting their rewards and there was a significant loss to the public revenue from unpaid taxes on the goods.
Didii, of Ayre Street, Middlesbrough, was jailed for four months. He had been on bail.