Illegal tobacco seller convicted

A Newton Abbot man has been sentenced following guilty pleas to selling illicit tobacco from his home, after an investigation by Devon and Somerset Trading Standards service.

65 year old Mr Roger Gerrey of 3 Lemon Place, Newton Abbot was charged with offences relating to selling and having available to supply, tobacco which did not have the legally required health warnings or the appropriate duty paid markings.

He was also charged with failing to display the correct age warning statement.

The court also heard that some of the tobacco sold by Mr Gerrey was counterfeit.

Appearing this week at Exeter Crown Court, Mr Gerrey was sentenced to 12 months in custody, suspended for two years.  He also had an extra £1,100 forfeited,  which had been seized from him by Trading Standards, in addition to the £11,870 which had been forfeited following an earlier hearing.

The court ordered that the seized tobacco be destroyed.

Devon and Cornwall Police shared intelligence with Trading Standards officers about a man selling tobacco to children from his home.

Further intelligence work identified the subject, and the court heard how in May 2012 an undercover Devon County Council Trading Standards officer knocked on the door of Mr Gerrey’s home and asked to buy some tobacco.

The officer was supplied with four 50g bags of rolling tobacco for £36 by Mr Gerrey.

Officers from Devon and Somerset Trading Standards, supported by police, exercised an entry warrant on Mr Gerrey's home in June 2013.  

602 packets of rolling tobacco and 555 packets of twenty cigarettes worth approximately £14,000 were found, along with £11,870 in cash.

Mr Gerrey admitted that the money came from selling illegal tobacco. That cash has since been forfeited by the court.

Despite knowing that he was under investigation further intelligence was received indicating that Mr Gerrey was continuing to sell illegal tobacco from his house and so a further test purchase was made by an undercover Trading Standards Officer.

On this occasion Mr Gerrey sold four packets of rolling tobacco to the officer for £36. A further entry warrant was exercised.

Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Devon & Somerset Trading Standards Service, said:

“The illegal sale of tobacco is a serious criminal offence. Mr Gerrey’s actions will have damaged the local economy by taking trade away from genuine hard working businesses. He unfairly undercut legitimate traders and gained a competitive advantage at their expense.

"Illegal sales of tobacco in the South West have a huge impact on people’s health. Selling at less than half the tax-paid price of legally sold tobacco it allows those who could otherwise not afford to smoke, to maintain their habit and undermining their attempts to quit, and because it’s cheaper than the genuine products it can also be easier for children to smoke and become addicted.

"We will not tolerate the illegal sales of tobacco and will continue to take firm action to stop this type of activity by using our enforcement powers against anyone we catch.

"Our officers routinely act on intelligence we receive, as they did in this case, so I would encourage consumers to continue to report those involved in selling illicit tobacco because their valuable information can significantly aid our investigations.”

The illegal sale of tobacco is a criminal offence. Anyone wishing to report the illegal selling of tobacco can do so anonymously online to Trading Standards at www.stop-illegal-tobacco.co.uk or call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org. They cannot trace your call and will never ask for your name.

Subsequent examination of the products shows that the tobacco was intended for sale elsewhere in the EU market as the health markings were not in English, and so failed to comply with the requirements of Regulation 7 of the Tobacco Products (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale) (Safety) Regulations 2002 which requires, on the most visible surface, one of the following warnings— “Smoking kills” or “Smoking seriously harms you and others around you”, and on the other most visible surface, an additional warning from the list set out in the Schedule. The required fiscal mark was also absent meaning that UK duty had not been paid.

What is illicit tobacco?
Brief definitions of some commonly used terms concerning illegal supply are:

Smuggling – occurs where legitimately manufactured tobacco products are diverted, usually when in the wholesale distribution chain, evading payment of the tax.
Bootlegging – a variant of smuggling: tobacco products are purchased in a country with a low level of taxation and illegally brought into countries with higher rates of taxation.
Non-UK brands (‘Cheap Whites’) – brands manufactured overseas and smuggled into the UK. Brands include Raquel, Richman and Jin Ling.
Counterfeiting – involves the illegal manufacture of tobacco products, often abroad but sometimes in the UK to pass as UK brands avoiding all tax.
EU Duty Paid Goods – There are no limits on the amount of duty and / or tax paid tobacco goods you can bring into the UK from the EU, as long as they are for your own use and not to be sold or exchanged as a form of payment. Travellers from the South West bringing tobacco and cigarettes into the UK from the EU are reminded that Minimum Indicative Levels (MILs) changed on 1 October 2011, aligning the UK with levels elsewhere in Europe. Since that date, you are more likely to be asked questions at the frontier if you have more than 800 cigarettes and 1 kg of hand-rolling tobacco.

What should you look out for when it comes to illicit tobacco being sold?
Illicit tobacco can sometimes be hard to spot, but if you come across anyone selling tobacco products look out for the following:

Price less than £3.50 for 20 cigarettes or under £7 for 50g of hand rolling tobacco.
Missing fiscal mark.
No health warning.
Foreign language on packs – specifically the health warning.
Unfamiliar brands – never heard of it before? Check it out.
Printing errors on the pack.
Unusual taste and smell.