Council and Trading Standards find huge haul of counterfeit goods
Over £5000 of counterfeit goods were seized from a property in Sutton by Nottinghamshire County Council Trading Standards and Ashfield District Council officers.
Officers from the Council’s Environmental Health (Residential) team, Trading Standards and Nottinghamshire Police attended a commercial property in Sutton following reports of counterfeit cigarettes being sold.
A small amount of counterfeit goods was found and seized from the shop.
During the visit Trading Standards officers raised concerns regarding potential overcrowding and the safety of the residential flat above the shop. Due to these concerns Environmental Health officers were able to enter the property, which was under the Selective Licensing Scheme, and a large hoard of counterfeit cigarettes was found and seized.
The total value of the seized goods was £5,500 and Trading Standards are investigating and dealing with these offences.
Councillor Tom Smith, Vice-chairman of Communities Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Unfortunately, businesses are sometimes tempted to sell illegal tobacco products with little regard for the impact on their customers’ health, legitimate traders and reduced tax revenue for vital public services.
“It is unknown what these products contain and they do not have the correct health warnings.
“We want to send out the message to other traders that we do not tolerate the sale of counterfeit goods in the county.”
Environmental Health officers found issues in the domestic property relating to fire risks including a lack of smoke detectors and inadequate heating. The team will work with the landlord to ensure the property is brought up to a decent standard.
Cllr John Wilmott, Cabinet Member for Licensing, Environmental Health and Regulatory Services, said “This is a fantastic result of collaborative working between the Council and Trading Standards officers. Seizing the counterfeit goods is a real win, but more importantly finding the fire risks in the residential property could save someone’s life.
“The Environmental Health team do excellent work helping landlords and tenants by ensuring that properties in Ashfield are safe and of a high standard”.
