Cigarette criminals caught
Published Wednesday 16th November 11 in Council - news and information releases news
A Southend shop is paying the price for selling fraudulent goods to the public.
At Southend Magistrates Court on Wednesday 9th November, Innergo Limited, trading as Westcliff Supermarket, 37-39 Commercial Road, Southend, was prosecuted for possessing and supplying counterfeit Benson and Hedges cigarettes.
The company, which admitted the offence,was fined £2000 and ordered to pay £750 costs.
Trading Standards raided the store on Thursday 3rd March and confiscated a number of counterfeit cigarettes being sold to the public.
Innergo Ltd claimed to have purchased them from a member of the public, but paid in cash, received no invoices and had no documentation of the transaction.
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council's Executive Councillor for Public Protection, Waste and Transport, Councillor Tony Cox, said: "Counterfeit cigarettes infringe on Copyright Law and Trade Marks, as well avoiding high level tax and putting consumers at risk.
"Counterfeit cigarettes rarely go through the same extensive quality control assessments. As a result, they have been found to massively exceed tar and nicotine contents of genuine articles.
"The consequences of this can be very dangerous, so if anyone suspects this type of illegal activity they should ensure they report it to Trading Standards."