Shop shut down for selling illegal tobacco

Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service said the proprietor of The Mini Market in Exeter, Devon, ignored repeated warnings

A judge has granted a three-month closure order on a business accused of selling illegal tobacco.

Trading Standards said the proprietor of the Mini Market on Cowick Street, Exeter, Devon, ignored repeated warnings and continued to sell illegal tobacco worth more than £11,000 seized over the course of five raids.

The closure order was issued on Wednesday by District Judge Smith at Exeter Magistrates' Court. It follows a joint operation by Heart of the South West Trading Standards and Devon and Cornwall Police.

Judge Smith said if the shop reopened after three months, it would be under "a very close eye".

Trading Standards Officers described "multiple attempts" by the shop's workers to flee with illicit goods.

These included an incident in May when officers seized 436 packs of cigarettes and 89 pouches of tobacco from a man escaping through the rear entrance.

In August, police said officers intercepted a vehicle linked to the shop carrying more illegal tobacco and, in September, another man was caught fleeing with 168 packs of cigarettes and 28 pouches of tobacco.

On Tuesday, a man was found on the shop roof with two bags of illegal tobacco as the closure notice was served.

Alex Fry, operations manager for Trading Standards, said despite repeated warnings the shop continued to sell illegal tobacco.

Cheap, illicit products make it easier for children to start smoking and undermine legitimate businesses," he said.

Insp Nathan Johnson from Exeter Neighbourhood Police Team said: "We will continue to respond to information from the public, seek to protect those in Exeter and address organised criminality."

Police said it was the 14th closure in Devon in six months with previous shutdowns in Honiton, Exmouth, Plymouth, and Torquay.