Hajji Haji Mustafa, from Coventry, was caught out when trading standards teams went to his shop with sniffer dogs after they were tipped off that tax-free tobacco was being sold there.
During the raid 514 packs of illegal cigarettes were found as well as 353 pouches of hand rolling tobacco. Tobacco was also found hidden in rubbish bags and holdalls. If it had been genuine it would have been worth £9,500.
The products, seized from Shop and Save in Regent Street, Hinckley, will now be destroyed.
Last week at Leicester Magistrates Court Mustafa, of Beresford Avenue, Foleshill, pleaded guilty to five separate counts of possessing counterfeit goods for supply, as well as having cigarettes that failed to meet European safety requirements and possessing packets of cigarettes not intended for UK distribution. He was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence, ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work, and told to pay Leicestershire County Council’s costs of £2,523.73.
