Over 3,500 illicit cigarettes seized from Sheffield shop
More than 3,500 illicit cigarettes were found hidden in a secret compartment of a chest of drawers at the Abbey Stop Shop on Abbeydale Road earlier this year, a council report has said.
A licensing review is to take place next week at Sheffield Town Hall.
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Hide AdThe store on Abbeydale Road is no longer open under the name of the Abbey Stop Shop and is operating as ‘Eastern European Mini Market’.
The report said that on March 9, police and trading standards officers carried out an inspection at the shop.
It said: “In a store room at the rear of the shop, officers found a chest of drawers which had been carefully modified with the addition of a hidden catch.
“This catch released the top surface of the chest, allowing it to be easily moved to reveal a concealment behind the drawers. 3,560 cigarettes and five 50g packs of hand-rolling tobacco were found hidden there.
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Hide Ad“All of the tobacco products were illicit, some being counterfeit copies of genuine brands and some procured wholly for the global trade in illicit tobacco.”
The report said licence holder Osman Kadir admitted in interview that he had built the secret compartment and had been selling illicit cigarettes.
It said he was previously prosecuted for a similar offence in 2015 involving the same shop.
Neither Mr Kadir or staff from the new shop could be reached for comment.