The owner of a shop who repeatedly ignored warnings and openly displayed illegal ‘snus’ tobacco for sale along with other tobacco and vape products has pleaded guilty to breaches of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 following an investigation and prosecution by Oxfordshire Trading Standards.
The ‘extremely strong’ Siberia snus found in the shop (image credit: Oxfordshire Trading Standards)
Avtar Singh Lulpurwal (45) of Oxford Road, Kidlington, owner of Uni Food & Wine on Park End Street in Oxford, appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 25 July. The court heard how Trading Standards Officers seized 81 illegal vapes when they visited the shop on 18 November 2024, and found tobacco products on open display and without the statutory health warning notice.
In a subsequent visit on 17 December 2024, Officers again found tobacco products on open display, along with a unit pack of Siberia Extremely Strong tobacco snus labelled in Swedish. It has been illegal to sell tobacco snus in the UK since 1992.
Lulpurwal had previously pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court on 17 June after more than 1,000 illegal vapes were seized from Uni Food & Wine and another of his shops.
In March, Oxford City Council’s licensing committee revoked Uni Food & Wine’s premises licence to sell alcohol due to a history of non-compliance with licensing objectives.
Lulpurwal will be sentenced on 15 November. Oxfordshire County Council is also seeking to recover around £19,500 in proceeds of crime.
Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety said: “Thank you to all involved for all of their work and dedication in bringing this case to court. We will always pursue reoffenders, and it is disappointing that that yet again trading standards has been forced to resort to court action to protect the public.”
Jody Kerman, Oxfordshire County Council’s Head of Prevention, Protection and Trading Standards said: “It’s disappointing when a retailer does not learn from its mistakes. Our role is to educate and assist where we can but we don’t shy away from taking enforcement action when it’s necessary – to protect the public and honest businesses alike.”
