Leeds convenience store owners caught with thousands of packets of fake cigarettes and a bag of £33,000 in cash

A court heard Ali Mohamad and Aram Mohammedie continued to sell counterfeit products from their shop in Leeds despite repeated warnings from authorities.

A judge said the two men "flagrantly disregarded" the law by carrying out trading standards offences at the Mama Mia store on Harehills Lane.

Leeds Crown Court was told how the offending came to light on June 24, 2020.

A police community support officer on patrol in the area became suspicious after seeing a shop assistant hide something under the counter as he was serving a customer.

The officer spoke to the assistant and then asked for the owner to be contacted,

Mohammedie spoke to the officer but denied anything illegal was being sold at the shop.

The officer then noticed a bag of illegal tobacco products hanging behind the counter.

The shop was searched by West Yorkshire Police and 2,757 illegal packets of cigarettes and 496 pouches of hand rolling tobacco were recovered.

Angus McDonald, prosecuting, said some of the products contained false Regal, Richmond, Benson & Hedges and Amber Leaf trade marks.

All of the products either failed to display a health warning or contained a health warning in a foreign language.

The court heard the defendants continued to commit similar offences despite the initial "shot across the bows".

On November 23, 2020, West Yorkshire Trading Standards arranged for a test purchase to be made at the store.

Mohamad served a test purchaser with cigarettes bearing a false Richmond trade mark.

Officers returned to the store four days later and Mohamad was behind the counter with more illegal tobacco products.

The premises were searched and 1,230 packets of cigarettes and 167 pouches of tobacco were found hidden in a store room and behind a ceiling light.

A bag containing £33,000 in cash was found in a store room on the second floor.

The products contained false Richmond, Regal, Mayfair, Golden Virginia and Amber Leaf trade marks and did not contain proper health warnings.

A further inspection took place on February 25 last year and 341 illegal tobacco products were recovered.