Ruislip business busted selling tobacco from car boot

Aman Singh and his company Devi Enterprises Ltd, trading as am2pm, 38 High Street, Ruislip, each pleaded guilty to nine offences of selling illegal tobacco products at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 30 July.  

Singh and his company were ordered to pay more than £4,000 for selling illegal cigarettes and tobacco without the correct safety packaging and oversized vapes. These products were not intended for the UK market and had no UK duty tax paid on them.    

Using local intelligence, officers conducted an unannounced inspection of the shop in December 2022. Assisted by a specially trained tobacco detection dog, a car outside the shop was identified as containing tobacco. Following persistent questioning, Singh handed over the keys to reveal a boot full of illicit tobacco products including, 920 cigarettes, 750g of rolling tobacco which did not have the required packing and safety warnings, and 69 oversized vapes all above the legal limit of 2ml of liquid. 

During a previous visit to the premises in September 2022, trading standards officers had already seized and destroyed a batch of 44 illegal vapes. 

In total, the court ordered Singh and his company to pay £4,339.94 which included a fine of £1,666, a victim surcharge of £666 and the council's prosecution costs of £2,007.94 for breaching the Trade Marks Act 1994, the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 and the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. 

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council's Cabinet Member for Residents' Services, said: "We're committed to keeping Hillingdon a safe borough where communities can thrive. This case shows a business owner with clear intention to cut costs and sell illicit goods for profit at the expense of our residents' safety, despite a previous warning. There is no excuse for any business in our borough to recklessly ignore rules and regulations.  

"Our trading standards team continues to crack down on businesses that think they can operate by their own rules, especially those selling potentially harmful illegal tobacco products, and we're grateful to concerned residents that support our investigations by reporting suspicious activity."  

If you would like to report a business selling illegal products, email tradingstandards@hillingdon.gov.uk. 

For other consumer related issues contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.