A shopkeeper has been left with a bill of almost £12,500 after he was found to be selling illegal vapes.
A court heard that trading standards officers seized hundreds of illegal vapes being sold from the best-one shop on Front Street in Leadgate on two separate occasions last year.
Now, Sajid Khan, who owns the shop, has appeared at Peterlee Magistrates' Court after being prosecuted by Durham County Council. The court heard that trading standards officers inspected the shop in April last year following intelligence from the public.
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A total of 222 vapes with a street value of £2,600 were seized during the visit, all of which had oversized tanks with capacities exceeding the 2ml legal limit and were lacking any UK importer or manufacturer details on their packaging. None of them had been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Though Khan was not present during the inspection, officers sent him a reminder of the laws governing the sale of vapes. They also asked him to sign a compliance acknowledgement form confirming his shop would no longer sell illicit vape products, but he did not return it.
But when officers visited the shop again in May last year after receiving another tip-off from the public, officers seized 148 vapes of the exact same type that made up the bulk of their earlier haul, with a street value of £1,770. This time, Khan was present and when officers asked him if non-compliant vapes were being sold, he admitted that they were.
When asked why he had continued to sell non-compliant products he told them his customers wanted them.
In both visits, officers noted that Khan had compliant vapes on display and non-compliant vapes under the counter. When interviewed, Khan accepted that he'd been provided with information following the first visit and that he was aware the products he was selling were non-compliant.
Khan pleaded guilty to three charges of selling oversized vapes, and three charges of failing to take due care to ensure the products were properly labelled. In mitigation, Khan said he was sorry, that he wasn't aware it was a serious offence, and that he has stopped selling non-compliant products.
He was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £2,872 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.
Owen Cleugh, Durham County Council's Public Protection Manager, said: "Retailers have a duty to make sure the products they sell comply with UK regulations. We are keen to work with all retailers to ensure the products they sell comply with the law.
"In this case, Khan had an opportunity to understand what is required of him as a shop owner and to remove illicit products from sale following our initial inspection. However he failed to do this and also did not seek any further advice from the service.
"We encourage all retailers to ensure they only source such products from a reputable supplier, and to familiarise themselves with the regulations. Those that engage in selling illegal items hurt other businesses that do follow the rules.
"We will continue to work closely with our partners to tackle the issue and remove illegal products from the marketplace when we find them."
To report any sales of illegal products, contact the trading standards team, email tradingstandards@durham.gov.uk or call 03000 261 016.
