A stash of illegal cigarettes has landed a Greenford off-licence and its owners in court.

Following an inspection by Ealing Council officers thousands of illegally imported cigarettes, in packets without health warnings on them, were found at the shop.

On 23 May, Ealing Magistrates’ Court ordered 3 parties to pay fines and court costs totalling £6,565. These were:

• MS Foods and Wine Limited trading as Bilton Foods and Winesat 52 Bilton Road in Greenford
• its director, Mr Navaratnarajah Menakan of Laugherne Road in Worcester
• and manager, Mr Anilash Prabha Sudhakaran of Malvern Avenue in Harrow

They pleaded guilty to 5 offences each in relation to the supply of illicit, non-duty paid tobacco.

Taking action on tobacco

The council’s trading standards team continuously works to protect residents and businesses in the borough.

During the raid in 2023, officers found 640 illegal cigarettes in the shop store room and another 2,800 cigarettes in Sudhakaran’s van outside the store.

These cigarettes failed to comply with the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 because they were not in the required plain packaging, which was introduced to deter smoking by removing positive associations of brands. They also did not meet the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, as they did not display the appropriate statutory health warnings.

It might be tempting to buy illicit cigarettes as they are often far cheaper than legal products, but they encourage people to smoke more and make it easier for children to take up smoking. It also makes it harder for smokers to quit and deprives the country of much-needed tax revenue to spend on crucial public services.

‘Keeping our residents safe’

Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, the council’s cabinet member for decent living incomes, said: “Thanks to the hard work of our trading standards officers, these illegal and unsafe products have been removed from the marketplace. Investigating these cases costs the council money, which would be better spent supporting our residents elsewhere.

“Illegal products like these pose a direct safety risk to our residents. We will continue to crackdown on traders who supply illicit products in our borough. You can play your part in supporting our community by reporting any concerns to our team.”

To report a business you may have concerns about, email: tradingstandards@ealing.gov.uk.