Couple in court after raid finds bootleg cigarettes and tobacco in their home

Durham County Council’s Trading Standards team took legal action against Geoffrey Tait, 64, and Lucy Tait, 56, after a number of illegal tobacco products were found in their house.

The Trading Standards team had been receiving information that the pair were allegedly involved in the sale of tobacco for some time and in October 2019 a warrant of entry was executed at their home.

During the search, cigarettes and tobacco were found with packaging from a number of brands including JPS, Rothman, and Business Royal cigarettes and Amberleaf, Flandria, and Turner hand-rolling tobacco.

In total, 980 cigarettes and 5.75 kg of hand-rolling tobacco were seized.

When investigated, it was found that none of the products conformed to the current requirements of standardised packaging and, of the products seized, none had the required combined health warnings, except for the Rothman cigarettes.

A sample of the JPS cigarettes and Rothman cigarettes were sent to the trademark holders, which confirmed that all of the samples were counterfeit.

The pair were charged with possession of counterfeit cigarette and tobacco products that were in breach of a registered trademark, non-compliant with packaging regulations, and in breach of health warning provisions.

The couple, of The Avenue in Pity Me, Durham, pleaded guilty at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court earlier this week and were fined £120, with £200 in costs and a victim surcharge of £32.

Owen Cleugh, the council’s public protection manager, said: “Selling illegal tobacco affects communities on many levels.

"Not only does it have a serious impact on health, it brings crime and nuisance to local neighbourhoods, makes it easier for children to get hold of cheap tobacco, and undermines the efforts of the stop smoking services.”

Anyone who believes they may have information on the sale of illicit tobacco can report it anonymously on the hotline 0300 999 0000 or online at keep-it-out.co.uk/.

Advice about stopping smoking can be found from Stop Smoking County Durham by calling 0800 772 0565 or at www.durham.gov.uk/stopsmoking.

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