Cornwall businessman made to pay more than £12k for selling fake tobacco 

A Cornish businessman has pleaded guilty to selling fake tobacco and must pay more than £12,000 in fines. 

Turhan Anik, of Trelowen Drive in Penryn, pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to possession for supply of 183 pouches of counterfeit hand rolling tobacco, contrary to the Trade Marks Act 1994.

The tobacco was seized from Mr Anik’s home by Devon and Cornwall Police in May 2021 and the case was passed to Cornwall Council Trading Standards (TS) for investigation.

Analysis of mobile records showed that the tobacco was part of a larger group of 400 pouches, with an estimated retail value of around £10,000.

Elizabeth Kirk, senior Trading Standards officer, said: “Tackling illegal tobacco products forms a core component of the work that Trading Standards undertakes.

"Illegal tobacco is often linked to Organised Crime and negatively affects the income of legitimate businesses who are key to maintaining vibrant communities.

“We work closely with our colleagues in Public Health as we know that the availability of cheap illegal tobacco undermines the attempts of those trying to stop smoking.

"We are really pleased with the result at court against Mr Anik and hope this sends a clear message to anyone involved in the supply of illegal tobacco that we will work with partner agencies to disrupt and prosecute wherever possible.”

Mr Anik was ordered to pay a combination of costs and fines, totalling £12,427.

Cllr Martyn Alvey, portfolio holder for environment and climate change, which also includes public protection, said: “I am delighted to see our Trading Standards team successfully bring this prosecution to a conclusion.

“Not only is selling counterfeit tobacco illegal, it also undermines our public health team’s work to reduce the number of smokers in our communities, and can be of dubious quality and even more dangerous to health than licensed products.

“I hope this can be a lesson to those considering doing similar – this is not a victimless crime, and we will track you down and we will make sure you are prosecuted.”