Coventry man who stored £40k of illegal cigarettes and tobacco avoids jail - The Coventry Observer

Coventry man who stored £40k of illegal cigarettes and tobacco avoids jail

Coventry Editorial 15th Nov, 2018   0

A man who was caught storing more than £40,000 worth of illegal cigarettes and tobacco destined for sale at shops in Coventry has escaped being jailed.

A judge had heard that when Coventry trading standards officers raided Simand Muhammad’s home they uncovered more than 10,000 packs of illicit cigarettes and 800 pouches of tobacco.

After initially denying the charges, he pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to four charges of possessing counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes with false trade marks, with a view to selling or distributing them.

He also admitted three offences of possessing prohibited tobacco products, 10,220 packets of cigarettes and 854 pouches of tobacco, for sale or supply and four charges of engaging in an unfair commercial practice.




Muhammad (36) of Cleveland Road, Coventry, was sentenced to ten months in prison suspended for 12 months and was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.

Mark Jackson, prosecuting on behalf of Coventry City Council’s Trading Standards department, said: “This case involves the storage of counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco which were then passed on for illegal supply.


“In 2017 trading standards officers were carrying out a surveillance operation targeting a man believed to be involved in the distribution of illegal tobacco to shop in Coventry.”

On February 15 they saw that man driving his BMW from a known illicit tobacco shop to Cleveland Road, where Muhammad and another man came out carrying boxes which were put in the boot.

The driver went to another address where the boxes were moved to another vehicle which then seen parked outside a shop known to be involved in selling illicit tobacco products.

On July 12 the officers executed a warrant at Muhammad’s home, and when he opened the door he was asked whether he had any cigarettes or tobacco, and said he did not.

But in a bedroom and a cupboard under the stairs, they found a total of 10,220 packets of cigarettes and 854 pouches of tobacco with a retail value in excess of £40,000.

Mr Jackson said: “Roughly half of them were counterfeit, and the other half were foreign-labelled packets, of which some are completely bogus made-up brand names.”

When Muhammad was interviewed, he said he lived with his wife and five children, and worked part-time making deliveries for a local pizza restaurant.

He said the cigarettes and tobacco belonged to a Polish man called Adam who was a regular at the pizza restaurant and had asked if he could store some stuff for a few days because he had sold his shop, and he had agreed.

Muhammad claimed the boxes had been delivered while he was at work on the Saturday before the raid, and when he got back he looked in one of them and saw they were cigarettes, but did not realise they were illegal.

“We say the whole story about Adam is a fiction,” added Mr Jackson.

Simon Burch, defending, conceded: “I do not ask that he be dealt with on the basis that it was one occasion that he was storing the products.”

He said Adam was involved in various businesses including a Polish supermarket, and Muhammed was not paid, but was ‘gifted food’ for storing the items at his home.

“He understands that by warehousing those cigarettes he was supporting a business and was therefore part of it.

“He is a man of hitherto good character, a hard-working family man. He says he will never again find himself on the wrong side of the law,” added Mr Burch.

Judge Sylvia de Bertodano, who ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the cigarettes and tobacco, told Muhammad: “When officers searched your address they found you were storing counterfeit tobacco products with a value of in excess of £40,000.

“Half of those were counterfeit and many of the remainder were sold under brand names that were not properly regulated, and so not subject to safety standards.

“People who are involved in selling these sorts of goods are committing very serious offences. They are undermining legitimate businesses, and in this case possibly putting consumers in danger because safety standards are not complied with.

“I know this was not your operation, and that you were not playing a leading role in it, but those who organise these operations and make large profits are reliant on the help and co-operation of people like you.

“You have put yourself in real danger of going to prison for a substantial amount of time. Please be in absolutely no doubt that if you breach this sentence, you will be back at this court and you will be serving that sentence in custody.”

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