Croydon Council’s trading standards team has successfully prosecuted a man after seizing over six thousand packets of counterfeit and non-compliant cigarettes and tobacco products.
A raid carried out last year using sniffer dogs found the illegal tobacco, some of which did not carry the prescribed health warnings, in a storage unit in Norbury. The cigarettes had an estimated street value of £38,000. The retail value of compliant products would have been £106,000.00.
Sylwester Krauze pleaded guilty to 9 offences connected to the illegal products and was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months, ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work and to pay the Council’s full costs of £6,139.55. A victim surcharge of £154.00 was imposed.
Croydon continues to crack down on the problem of illicit and counterfeit cigarettes and nicotine products being sold, as these products can be highly dangerous to people who may unknowingly buy the products.
“Thank you once again to our award-winning trading standards team for finding illegal tobacco and for the successful prosecution.
“Illegal cigarettes are dangerous as they do not have the correct health warnings and users do not know what’s in them. They also fund organised criminal gangs which bring misery to many.
“To make the borough cleaner, safer and healthier, we will continue our proactive raids to stop this criminal activity happening in our borough.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
If you have information about the sale of illegal tobacco in Croydon please visit our website.
