Jailed: Dudley supermarket boss who made £400,000 selling counterfeit cigarettes

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how the European Food Express supermarket in Dudley High Street had been equipped with secret compartments beneath the floor and inside walls in which to hide the stash.

Najibullah Azaksai was jailed for 34 months when he appeared before Wolverhampton Crown Court on January 15, having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess goods bearing a sign identical to a registered trademark and conspiracy to possess criminal property in July 2024.

Azaksai was one of five individuals charged following a raid on the European Food Express supermarket in Dudley High Street.

The group was found to be in possession of counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and tobacco products between August 2016 to December 2018 at a Dudley High Street shop premises called European Food Express.

The court was told that Azaksai, along with Sywash Mashkhaty, Sarwat Raouf, Seyed Taklimi and Zanko Fars Ismael, had been selling and possessing counterfeit and illicit tobacco products on multiple occasions, with boxes of cigarettes being sold for less than £3. 

Some of the illicit cigarettes seized in the case could not be classified as counterfeit as they represented bogus brands that were produced and smuggled into the UK by organised crime gangs.

Azakzai was working in the shop during numerous raids at the premises, where counterfeit and illicit tobacco products were found hidden in drawers and sacks.

During one visit,  officers seized a closed-circuit television hard drive, which was found in a ceiling void.

When footage was examined, it showed how Azakzai and others had been involved in preparing and digging a concrete floor behind the counter to create a secret compartment. During a later search more than 7,000 illicit and counterfeit cigarettes, for which duty had not been paid, were seized from this.

In another raid, officers found a secret electromagnetic operated compartment, this time behind a wall. When opened and searched, officers found and seized 399 packets of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco.

Products were also seized from the rear of the store, concealed behind ceiling tiles, including more than 13,000 cigarettes plus 39 packets of hand-rolling tobacco.

During interview,  Azakzai told officers that European Food Express sold around £500 worth of illegal tobacco a day, amounting to more than £400,000 worth of illegal sales during the period concerned.

Azakzai was sentenced to 34 months in prison, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge. The court was told there were aggravating factors in the case an Azakzai had previous convictions for selling illegal tobacco.

Co-defendant Sarwat Raouf, received a 98-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, after admitting conspiracy to possess criminal property.

He was ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work, and to pay a victim surcharge plus £2,000 costs.

Seyed Taklimi and Zanko Fars Ismael are due to be sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on February 4, while Sywash Mashkhaty is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16.

The shop was hit by two consecutive closure orders, totalling six months, following the raids.

The shop’s licence had previously been revoked after trading standards officers visited the shop in August 2016, seizing nearly 40,000 cigarettes and 58 packets of tobacco.

It is understood that it is now under new owners.

Councillor James Clinton, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Dudley Council, said: “This has been an extremely long case, where the offenders would not stop selling illegal tobacco to the public despite our trading standards officers frequently inspecting the Dudley shop.

“I welcome the outcome of this case and am sure it serves as a reminder that we will do everything in our power to ensure the public is protected and legitimate businesses are safeguarded, taking legal proceedings wherever necessary.”