Enforcement officers swoop on newsagents illegally selling cigarettes in Burnley
Enforcement officials swooped on a newsagents in Burnley who were trading in counterfeit cigarettes – and they have now been hit with fines of more than £8,000.
A Trading Standards inspection took place at Burnley News Ltd's shop, based at Unit 7a of the Charter Walk Shopping Centre in Market Square earlier this year (May 25) and officers quickly found 80 packets of assorted cigarettes hidden beneath a wooden panel in the top of a lit display unit. All of the packs were in branded, non-plain packaging, which has been banned since 2017.
In the back of the shop, officers came upon two sleeves containing another 13 packets of non-standardised cigarettes on a countertop. All of the packs were seized.
At a hearing at Burnley Magistrates' Court on November 24, Burnley News Ltd and its director, Hussain Lehri, pleaded guilty to offences against safety regulations. Lehri was fined £2,000 plus a surcharge of £200 and £572.62 costs while his company was also fined £5,000 with a surcharge of £500 and £600 costs.
This is not the first time Lehri/Burnley News Ltd. have been caught selling banned tobacco products. In August 2021, both pleaded guilty to a string of similar offences committed during 2019.
County Councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "We are very pleased with the outcomes of the trial on illicit tobacco in Burnley.
"We do not take repeat offences lightly and we will be vigilant to make sure that offenders will be held accountable for their actions."
Notes to editors
Note to editors: The purpose of the inspection was check for the presence of illicit smuggled and counterfeit tobacco products.