A convenience store owner has been ordered to pay £1,560 after cigarettes were sold to a 13-year-old.
Gulam Kibria Jaigirdar, 48, also known as Dipu, owner of East End News, Raven Row, E1, pleaded guilty to one count of a packet of Pall Mall cigarettes, costing £12.50, being sold to a person under the age of 18 years.
The sale occurred during an underage sales test purchasing exercise carried out by Tower Hamlets Council’s Trading Standards on 13 April 2023. The law prohibits the sale of tobacco products to people under the age of 18.
The sale was made by a member of staff at the shop, who has since absconded. Gulam Kibria Jaigirdar, as the owner of the business, was also liable for the offence.
The shop displayed a notice by the till area stating that it is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18, but despite this the cigarettes were sold without the child being challenged for proof of age.
Gulam Kibria Jaigirdar appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 28November 2023. He was fined £400 by the court with a £160 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.
Cllr Abu Talha Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said:
“These under-age sale operations are vital to protect our young people and to hold those who put their own profits above the health of others to account.
“We will continue to carry out test purchasing exercises for all age-restricted products.”
Posted on Tuesday 5th December 2023