City branded 'capital of counterfeit cigarettes' after barber's shop raid

£177K OF ILLEGAL PRODUCTS FOUND

- By MARK NAYLOR

HULL has been branded the “capital of counterfeit cigarettes” after it was revealed that nowhere else in the country has a worse problem for fake tobacco products than the city.

A raid on a barber's shop uncovered a huge hidden haul of thousands of secretly-stored illegal products that were potentially worth a highly lucrative sales bonanza of more than £177,500, Hull Crown Court heard.

Senol Didii, 21, who had been living in Hull, admitted five offences involving possessing or supplying cigarettes, tobacco products or e-cigarettes which did not comply with labelling requirements and health warnings, on November 19.

Harry Bradford, prosecuting, said that trading standards officers from Hull City Council went to the City Barbers shop in Anlaby Road, west Hull, for a tobacco inspection.

A large number of illegal cigarettes and tobacco products were found in cupboards. Two members of staff were there, including a manager, but they denied any knowledge of the illegal products.

There were 112,700 cigarettes, 2,274 pouches of rolling tobacco and 140 e-cigarettes. The total potential retail value of the haul was put at £177,523.