Trading Standards' crackdown on illicit tobacco helps to protect the safety of Lincolnshire residents
We’re stepping up the war on illegal cigarettes, vapes and tobacco, and the rogue traders who put residents’ health at risk by selling them.
In a high-profile prosecution earlier this year, shopkeeper Ismail Amin (54) of Reeves Road, Derby, who sold the harmful products in Boston and two other counties was sentenced to more than three years in prison and ordered to pay £20,000 in costs.
The successful prosecution was the latest in a long line of hard-hitting enforcement action conducted by Lincolnshire Trading Standards and its partners, which has seen more than 135 shops hit with closure orders since
mid-2023.
In 2024 alone, 65 premises were forcibly closed and 670,000 illicit cigarettes were removed from Lincolnshire’s streets – a 150 per cent increase on the year before.
Clamping Down
Cllr Alex McGonigle, executive councillor for community safety at the council, said: “We’re clamping down hard on rogue traders who put residents’ lives at risk by selling illegal tobacco products. These shops contribute to anti-social behaviour and are often a front for other serious crimes such as illegal working.
This was what we found in Ismail Amin’s prosecution – the person in charge of his Boston shop had no right to work in the UK. We will remain vigilant and continue the fight against the illegal products that are blighting our streets.”
For principal trading standards officer, Andy Wright, stubbing out illicit tobacco is about protecting people’s safety. “These products are dangerous”, he warned. “It’s written on the packs that cigarettes kill people, that’s no surprise. But house fires caused by smoking materials result in more deaths than any other type of fire.
"Illegal cigarettes rarely comply with fire safety standards and usually lack the self-extinguishing feature of legal ones, making them a major cause of house fires. The majority of the cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco we come across are not simply illegally imported, they are counterfeit.
“We’ve seen the shocking consequences of using these products first hand. In Lincolnshire there have been deaths associated with house fires caused by illegal cigarettes. A house in Wyberton, near Boston, was left devastated by a fire caused by an illegal cigarette that didn’t self-extinguish.
“On top of this, in most towns across Lincolnshire the shops that sell these products are found in areas where residents have reported a fear of crime, anti-social behaviour, and where women in particular feel vulnerable.
“Trading Standards conduct regular test purchase operations using volunteers under the age of 18 to try and buy age restricted products. We have found shops selling illegal cigarettes and vapes are 14 times more likely to sell them to children. We’ll continue to protect people and take action against these shops wherever they appear.”
Report it
You can help by reporting instances of illegal tobacco sales or associated criminality. Reporting helps to build a better intelligence picture, to better evidence criminal activity, and to proactively disrupt organised criminals. Reporting is easy and 100% anonymous. Call Crimestoppers today: 0800 555 111, or visit https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information to give information online.