A shop and its owner have been ordered to pay more than £5,000 after being found guilty of selling illicit tobacco products in an investigation by Barking and Dagenham Council Trading Standards.
When Officers visited Ottoman Food & Wine on Reede Road, Dagenham in December 2023 accompanied by specialist tobacco detection dogs, they found counterfeit versions of established tobacco brands being supplied for sale. The inspection took place as part of Operation CeCe, a nationwide initiative to tackle illicit tobacco funded by HMRC.
At Barkingside Magistrates Court on 3 December 2024, the business MM & GS Food Ltd, trading as Ottoman Food & Wine, and its director Gokhan Sonmez, were found guilty of selling counterfeit tobacco products.
MM & GS Food Ltd was fined £732 and ordered to pay costs of £1,611.45 plus a victim surcharge of £88; Sonmez was also fined £732, plus costs of £1,611.45 and an £88 victim surcharge, resulting in a total of £5,272.90 to be paid within six months.
Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety at Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “We are committed to putting a stop to the selling of illegal tobacco in the borough. These activities jeopardise public health and flout regulations meant to protect consumers.”
