Shopkeeper loses licence over fake cigarettes

A shop owner caught selling £10,000 worth of fake cigarettes has had his licence seized by the council.

Ali Ahmad, licence holder at International Market in Lowesmoor in Worcester, was caught selling counterfeit products during multiple stings by Trading Standards and West Mercia Police.

In total, almost 900 packs of fake cigarettes and more than six kilos of rolling tobacco with a value of £10,000 were seized from the city centre shop.

Worcester City Council’s licensing subcommittee agreed to revoke Mr Ahmad’s licence at a hearing in the Guildhall on June 28.

In a submission to the council, Mr Ahmad, who did not attend the hearing on Tuesday, said he was now “reformed” and feared his business would collapse if he was unable to sell alcohol and cigarettes.

“I appreciate that I have failed in many ways with regards to the licensing objective “prevention of crime and disorder” and I have now reformed myself,” he said.

“My business is heavily [reliant] on the sale of alcohol with it providing a large income and I am very concerned that provoking my license will cause my business to cease trading as I will no longer be able to cover overheads.”

Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), who had called for the licence to be revoked, said Mr Ahmad had been caught several times selling fake cigarettes since 2020 including to undercover officers and had shown “total disregard” for the conditions in the licence which sought to prevent crime and disorder.

Mr Ahmad had already been prosecuted over the offence and was told to pay costs totalling £3,500 and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12-month community order after pleading guilty to possessing and selling fake cigarettes and rolling tobacco at Worcester Magistrates Court in April.

Mr Ahmad blamed a “third party” for having fake cigarettes in the shop when interviewed in July 2020 but another sting a year later found the products were still being sold in the shop, including to another undercover officer, and more items were seized following a search in September 2021.

WRS said a shop worker had also tried to hide the bin bag full of fake cigarettes during the surprise visit.