An Eccles shop owner who built an elaborate, remote controlled hiding place for illegal tobacco had all his efforts undone by the wet nose of the law.
Buster, a tobacco sniffer dog went straight to the shelving unit and indicated tobacco was concealed behind it.
When the shop owner refused to open it, trading standards officers drilled a hole through and used a camera to peek inside – uncovering over £3,500 worth of foreign tobacco.
And six months later they visited the same shop, again with a sniffer dog, which uncovered more packs of illegal tobacco hidden inside a stack of beer cans.
Samane Babakr Mahmwd, 31, director of Zabka (Darwesh Supermarket) Ltd of Liverpool Road, Eccles, pleaded guilty at Salford and Manchester magistrates court to three offences of possessing illegal cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco. He also admitted three similar offences on behalf of the company.
He was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid community work, to be completed within 12 months.
Zabka was fined £500 for each offence, a total of £1500, ordered to pay Salford City Council’s costs of £2239, court costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £60. The case was heard on Wednesday September 30.
The court heard that a member of the public tipped off trading standards officers that Mr Mahmwd was selling illegal cigarettes and that they were hidden behind shelves inside the shop, which was operated with a remote control.
Officers visited the shop and spoke to Mr Mahmwd, the director, who claimed to be a shop worker. He denied having any illegal tobacco on the premises.
Officers searched the premises and, in a small stock room at the back of the shop, the dog indicated tobacco was concealed behind a shelving unit bolted to the wall. The dog handler also found a packet of illegal cigarettes behind the till.
Mr Mahmwd denied any other illegal tobacco was on the premises or hidden behind the shelving unit and repeatedly claimed he did not know how to open the compartment.
Officers broke through the back board of the shelving unit and found 6,700 foreign labelled cigarettes which did not carry correct UK health markings and 38 50g pouches of hand rolling tobacco, 15 of which were found to be counterfeit. The total street value was £3,531.50.
They found the back board of the shelving unit was mounted on rollers and operated by a remote control to slide down and reveal the hidden tobacco. When interviewed by trading standards officers Mr Mahmwd admitted he was the only one who had the key fob which opened the hiding place and said he had paid £1700 for it to store alcohol as he was short of space in the shop. No alcohol was found in the area, which trading standards officers described as “an elaborate concealment.”
Mr Mahmwd also claimed the tobacco was to be sold in one lot to one person but the cigarettes were divided into brands and individually priced inside the cupboard, leading trading standards officers to believe they were being sold in individual packets to members of the public.
Six months later trading standards officers returned to the shop with a sniffer dog and Mr Mahwd again denied having illegal tobacco on the premises.
Officers checked three stacks of beer crates and found 1,540 mixed foreign labelled cigarettes, worth £747, hidden in the centre of the stack. The plastic can holders had been cut and eight cans of beer had been removed from the centre of one of the crates to store the cigarettes.
Speaking after the court case Councillor Gena Merrett, executive lead for housing and environment, said: “Mr Mahwd went to extreme lengths to hide illegal tobacco knowing full well he was breaking the law and potentially putting people’s health at risk.
“I’d like to thank the member of the public who alerted us to this deception and enable us to bring him to justice. I’d urge anyone who has information about the sale of illegal tobacco to contact us in complete confidence so we can put an end to this dangerous trade.”
Anyone with information about illegal tobacco can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.
