Hayle man sold illegal tobacco from his home
7:00am Monday 11th February 2013 in News
A Hayle man who sold tobacco from his home has been fined.
Stuart Marrazza appeared before Truro Magistrates on Friday, February 1, charged with seven offences relating to the sale of pouches of rolling tobacco which were not labelled with the required UK health warnings.
The case brought by Cornwall Council Trading Standards came following intelligence that Mr Marrazza was regularly selling illegal tobacco from his own home.
After carrying out test purchases from the property, an entry warrant was obtained and officers seized 22 packs of foreign labelled Cutters Choice tobacco from the property, as well as other evidence which demonstrated that sales had been made from the property on a regular basis.
Mr Marrazza pleaded guilty to all seven offences and was given a six-month conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay £600 towards prosecution costs.
Gary Webster from Trading Standards said: “The sale of illegal tobacco products which are not intended for the UK market is detrimental to both the economy and the wider health agenda.
“The South West is an area with a huge demand for illegal tobacco. In Cornwall we are actively following up on intelligence to prevent such sales. Selling illegal tobacco not only evades the duty that would normally be payable, but also undermines efforts to reduce smoking in our communities. In many cases, sales of illegal tobacco from domestic premises are often targeted at children, who would otherwise find it difficult to purchase tobacco products due to more stringent age checks.”
Anyone wishing to report sales of illegal tobacco should contact Cornwall Council on 0300 1234 191 or anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
