A shop assistant caught selling a packet of illegal tobacco has been slapped with a hefty fine. Rebaz Ahmadi, 28, was hauled before Tameside Magistrates Court on Thursday (January 11) where he pleaded guilty to selling illicit tobacco.
Prosecuting, Ashleigh Melia, a solicitor from Tameside Council, told the court how on September 4, 2022 product testers entered S Shop on King Street, Dukinfield under the instruction of the council which had received intelligence that illicit tobacco was being sold on the premises. READ MORE: Student who ran over teenager in Audi GUILTY of causing grievous bodily harm READ MORE: Tragic final chapter in case of labourer crushed to death while working on 'live' hospital lift A packet of Amber Leaf hand rolling tobacco was sold to a product tester and later identified as being counterfeit.
In a police interview on March 28 last year Ahmadi, of Lilly Street, Sowerby Bridge, admitted that he had sold the tobacco from his personal supply.
Representing Ahmadi, solicitor Naila Akhtar called on the bench to take his early guilty plea into consideration. She said that at the time of the offence Ahmadi was not allowed to work in the UK due to being an Iranian national seeking asylum.