A North Shields shop has been ordered to close temporarily after a Trading Standards raid discovered fake cigarettes on the premises.
The Ali Baba shop on Nile Street must close for three months after Trading Standards officers from North Tyneside Council found fake cigarettes on the premises and in vehicles parked nearby on five occasions. The council was granted a three-month closure order by North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court - the first time the council has used a closure order to tackle the supply of illicit tobacco.
Trading Standards have also seized £50,000 worth of illegal tobacco products from a property in Howdon as part of a separate ongoing investigation. Northumbria Police executed a warrant backed by Trading Standards officers, which uncovered 50,000 illicit cigarettes and 540 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco.
