South Ayrshire Council News

Hamid Gazem, Senior Trading Standards Officer and Police Constable Brian McDowall, of the Community

As a result of a joint operation between South Ayrshire Trading Standards and Ayr Police both are warning the public to be on their guard after the seizure of counterfeit rolling tobacco in South Ayrshire.

The matter came to light after Trading Standards Officers made a covert test purchase of alleged counterfeit clothing from a seller using the auction site eBay. Their investigations led them to a house in the Troon area. During the search of those premises they discovered not only what they believed to be counterfeit clothing but also 26.3kg of tobacco. This was seized as well as over 11,000 cigarettes with an estimated retail value of approximately £9,000. An expert from the brand holder examined the 526 pouches of tobacco recovered. Only 16 contained genuine products, though these were also contraband, meaning no duty had been paid on any of the tobacco.

As part of the same operation, a covert purchase by Trading Standards Officers from a street seller in Ayr Town Centre revealed, after an inspection by the brand owner, Imperial Tobacco, that both the 50g pouches were counterfeit. A subsequent test purchase by a 16 year old resulted in them being sold contraband tobacco.

For many years all tobacco products sold illegally tended to be ‘contraband’ as they had been smuggled into the country with no duty paid. HM Customs have over the years worked hard at stopping the smugglers and have reduced the amount of tobacco smuggled into the UK. There has been an upsurge however in the amount of counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes circulating in recent months, particularly in the West of Scotland.

Councillor Peter Convery, responsible for Trading Standards issues commented, “Although there are various health implications surrounding tobacco products, there is no way for a prospective purchaser to know what harmful substances may be contained in the fake tobacco. In the past South Ayrshire Council has had counterfeit tobacco tested and were shocked at the level of harmful substances found. The fact that fakes can contain even higher levels of tar and carcinogens causes concern. The people who manufacture these illicit goods have no quality control and are not interested in the additional dangers they pose. Their only interest is making money. People buying fake tobacco are probably unaware of what they are buying or the additional danger to their health they face.”

Councillor Convery added, “It is unacceptable that people are selling fake tobacco undercutting local retailers who pay taxes and bring employment to the local area. We aim to maintain a level playing field where businesses all compete fairly and having someone selling illegal goods in the street with no overheads is not in the interest of the local economy. It is also not acceptable that the trader allegedly sold to an under age person, undermining all efforts to prevent young people from acquiring tobacco products and other age related products. I would urge anyone who knows of someone selling counterfeit goods or age restricted products to anyone under the legal age limit to get in touch with Trading Standards in total confidence.”

A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Trading Standards said, “We can confirm that a 41 year old male and a 43 year old male have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal concerning alleged offences relating to the supply of tobacco.”

Trading Standards can be contacted on 01292 616403, by visiting the Trading Standards Advice Centre at 5-7 River Terrace, Ayr or visiting the website, http://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards/