A Trowbridge shopkeeper has been sentenced for selling illegal tobacco following a raid which also saw more than £100,000 worth of the product seized.

The tobacco supplied by Shuan Al Kasab, 52, of Doncaster was not labelled with the required health warnings, was not in standardised packaging and the majority was also found to be counterfeit. 

Al Kasab had previously pleaded guilty to 14 offences relating to the tobacco.

At Salisbury Crown Court, on Friday, May 10 Al Kasab, who traded as My Sweet Shop, Wicker Hill, Trowbridge was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months. 

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Cllr Dominic Muns, cabinet member for environment, said: "Counterfeit tobacco is not regulated or manufactured to the same standards as normal tobacco. 

“It is often found to contain higher levels of harmful substances, as well as chemicals which are not normally permitted. 

“These types of cigarettes do not always meet the requirements to self-extinguish and have been linked to several deaths through house fires.

“I hope that the sentences that have been imposed today send a clear message that these actions will not be tolerated in Wiltshire.”

Wiltshire Council officers visited My Sweet Shop on Monday, 24 April last year, along with Wiltshire Police and a specialist dog trained to detect tobacco. 

During this visit, illegal tobacco was found under the counter and concealed in a storage area. 

Further complaints were received from the public and in May 2023 tobacco was purchased by an undercover officer.  

Trading Standards officers and the police returned to the premises in July 2023, where further tobacco was found in the storage area. 

During this visit, Al Kasab was searched and found to be in possession of keys for a vehicle and a property, both of which he had claimed to be in Doncaster. 

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The vehicle was located nearby where more tobacco was found. The keys were for a residential property in Stallard Street, Trowbridge rented by Al Kasab.  

Further tobacco was found at the property, together with £3,515 in cash which was also seized.  The seized tobacco found in April and July has a combined valued of almost £103,000.

He has also been given a curfew requiring him to reside at his address in Doncaster between 7pm and 7am for the next 4 months which will be electronically monitored.