Sandwell convenience store sold illegal tobacco
An off licence was found to be selling illegal tobacco during a series of investigations by trading standards officers.
However, Sandwell Council's licensing committee decided not to suspend Kuldip Randhawa's licence to run Jin's Convenience Store in Tipton after accepting his defence that he was not aware of the tobacco.
It had been brought into his shop by a Polish employee who he sacked after being told about the counterfeit goods.
The £555.75 worth of tobacco, which included 44 packets containing 20 cigarettes and nine pouches containing 50g of hand rolling tobacco, was found by Sandwell trading standards officers in a black laptop bag underneath the shop's counter.
Senior trading standards officer Toan Nguyen said Sandwell councillor Peter Allen, who was not present at the committee meeting, had received a complaint about the shop selling illegal cigarettes which he passed on to trading standards to investigate. A trading standards officer visited the shop in Toll End Road on August 20 last year, but did not find any illegal cigarettes or tobacco.
On December 12, trading standards received another complaint that the shop was selling 'dodgy cigarettes and vodka,' and an inspection was carried out six days later, but again failed to discover any counterfeit goods.
An undercover officer then conducted a test purchase at the shop and was sold four packets containing 20 illegal cigarettes for £12 and on January 30 trading standards officers visited the shop for another inspection, during which the tobacco was found in a laptop bag.
Mr Nguyen said the cigarettes were being sold for £3 a packet when customers would normally expect to pay £9.50.
The packets were believed to have been imported from eastern Europe.
