Dyary Kadir, 51, formerly of Market Place, North Ormesby, was sentenced after a Middlesbrough Council-led investigation into a shop at 38 Market Place in North Ormesby, a flat above the shop and a linked address in Berwick Hills.

Trading Standards Officers found a haul of more than 15,000 cigarettes and 2.1kg of rolling tobacco at the properties in January, 2023. 

In February last year, a visit was also conducted by Trading Standards to 32 Market Place, a café operated by Emma Wilkinson, 40, of Berwick Hills Avenue, Middlesbrough, where they found Dyary Kadir in possession of illicit tobacco for sale and seized more than 1,000 illicit cigarettes and 1.1kg of rolling tobacco. 

Kadir and Wilkinson were linked to the properties and the sale of illicit tobacco and were prosecuted by Middlesbrough Council.

The pair, who had previously been investigated for similar offences from a shop they ran nearby at 31 Market Place, were charged with offences under the Trade Marks Act, the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015.    

Both Kadir and Wilkinson had appeared before Teesside Magistrates’ Court last July, where Wilkinson pleaded guilty to all charges and Kadir entered a plea of not guilty. 

Both defendants’ cases were referred to Teesside Crown Court and at a hearing last week Kadir changed his plea to guilty and both defendants were given custodial sentences. 

The court heard that Kadir was a repeat and persistent offender in the sale of counterfeit cigarettes and had already been ordered to complete unpaid work when appearing for similar offences. 

He was given a 22-month jail sentence and was issued with a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order, an additional legal measure to address repeat offending.

For her involvement, Wilkinson received a 12-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months.  

Judith Hedgley, Middlesbrough Council’s Head of Public Protection said: “These sentences reflect the severity of harm caused by selling illicit tobacco.

“The defendants in this case set up apparently legitimate shops to be used for selling illicit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco and they set out to make money from a trade that increases health inequalities, causes antisocial behaviour and supports organised crime.”

Councillor Janet Thompson, Middlesbrough Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Our Trading Standards team will continue to work in partnership with Police and other agencies to target and tackle the sale of illicit tobacco.

“It is a trade that affects the lives of local people and brings crime into our neighbourhoods.

“The significant sentences given to these repeat offenders should be taken seriously by anyone who is thinking about getting involved in selling illicit and counterfeit tobacco products.”