Shop closed in fake tobacco bust

A shop in Lincoln will be closed for the next three months after it was found to be selling counterfeit tobacco products.

PhD at 50A High Street was one of three shops in Lincoln and Boston targeted in a joint operation between Lincolnshire Trading Standards and Lincolnshire Police following reports of illicit trading.

Those reports were confirmed during the raids when officers seized fake goods (pictured at Lincolns store) and Lincoln Magistrates issued full closure orders for each of the premises.

Andy Wright, Principal Lincolnshire Trading Standards Officer, said: “This is the latest round of shop closures in the Boston and Lincoln areas. Sellers of these goods are extremely persistent. My officers are currently conducting separate investigations into the criminal offences that were the subject of these closure orders.

“The sale of these goods undermines the interests of law-abiding retailers whose prosperity is hindered by these criminals. Premises selling counterfeit good commonly employ people with no legal right to work in the UK.  

“It is often found that people working in these shops have been trafficked and coerced into criminality by those focused on profit making. The people who are driving these sorts of schemes are often not in the shops themselves. The people within the shops are quite often victims in their own right. 

“Lincolnshire Trading Standards will continue to work closely with police across the county.”

Neighbourhood Inspector Dan Gilmore for Lincoln North East said: “This is the 14th closure for Lincoln in the last 12 months.  If the shops continue to flout the law, we will continue to work with Trading Standards to close them down.”

The court found that a closure order was necessary to prevent further criminal activity on the premises. These orders last for three months and are in place until midnight on January 2, 2024.

The order prohibits anyone from remaining on or entering the property with a very few exceptions. Anyone breaking this legal order is liable for arrest and could receive up to 51 weeks in prison, a fine, or both.