Former Cowley Road shop boss must pay £2000 for tobacco and nicotine offences
A former Oxford business owner has been fined for illegal tobacco and nicotine product offences following an investigation by Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards team.
The case, relating to a seizure from Khalifa Super Store of 120 Cowley Road, was heard at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Friday 27 June.
Marewan Salh, 51, of Derby, the former owner and director of Khalifa Super Store Ltd, pleaded guilty to six offences and was ordered to pay a £1,000 fine, victim surcharge of £400, and a contribution towards costs of £600.
The court heard that trading standards officers inspected the premises on 1 May 2024, seizing 160 cigarettes, 35 packs of shisha tobacco, 865 vapes and 122 unit packs of nicotine pouches. Mr Salh was not present at the time.
The vapes and shisha were discovered by a detection dog in concealments sealed shut by electromagnets and forced open by officers.
Most of the nicotine pouches did not have English labelling, while the tobacco products were smuggled and the vapes contained nicotine liquid of up to nine times the maximum 2ml capacity allowed.
Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety said: “The detection dogs are highly trained and will not only sniff out tobacco but can also find vapes and cash too. Their expertise makes short work of even the most sophisticated of concealments.
“Thank you to the team for all their work in bringing this case to court. It shows that Oxfordshire’s trading standards team, working in partnership with other agencies, will continue to crack down on the sale of all these illegal products.”
The company, Khalifa Super Store Ltd, was also charged with six offences but this matter was adjourned as the new owner is currently abroad.
Jody Kerman, Oxfordshire County Council’s Head of Trading Standards, added: “My team is committed to removing these illicit items from the High Street and creating a level playing field so that legitimate businesses can succeed.
“The use of sophisticated concealments, which can be difficult to detect, shows the lengths that criminals will go to. We will simply not tolerate this activity in Oxfordshire.”
Anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco and related items should contact 0300 999 6 999 to report it anonymously.
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