News Council team raids 500,000 fake-tobacco factory A factory churning out hundreds of thousands of pounds of fake branded tobacco has been successfully closed, thanks to a raid led by Croydon Trading Standards. In late August, six trading standards ofcers supported by police and a brand enforcement ofcer from Imperial Tobacco led an operation that raided a counterfeit hand-rolling tobacco-manufacturing site in Croydon. They found around 4,600 50g packets of fake Golden Virginia hand-rolling tobacco, with an approximate street value of 85,000, packed and ready for delivery. The illegal factory was fully equipped to make large quantities of fake tobacco. The ofcers found instructions and a recipe guide, equipment to steam and mix the raw tobacco leaf, and heavy equipment to remove the leaf from the stalk, to shred it and to pack and seal it. Signicant quantities of raw, and part-processed, tobacco leaf, aromas and additives, security labels, empty packet sleeves and outers were also found. During July, the criminal gang responsible produced more than 13,000 packets with a street value in the region of 250,000. It is estimated that there was sufcient material on site to make a further 250,000 worth of fakes. This is the rst time such a large-scale organised criminal manufacturing plant has been found in Croydon, and it is the biggest seizure of its kind made by the trading standards team. Mark Watson, cabinet member for communities, safety and justice, said: This is a truly marvellous result for our trading standards ofcers who, with the police, were able to coordinate and carry out a raid that has seriously dented what was obviously a highly organised criminal enterprise. These counterfeit packs of tobacco were, on the face of it, very high quality. Anyone who bought them would not necessarily have realised anything was amiss until they smoked the tobacco, when the poor quality would have immediately become obvious. Consumer complaints had been reported in early August, when packs of the fake tobacco were found being sold from a small independent supermarket in Kent. Investigations are ongoing. October heralds change in law for landlords New legislation affecting the private rental sector came into force in October. Among the new measures are: regulations requiring landlords to install adequate smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors; the introduction of a new notice to quit form (Section 21); and new rules about the information landlords must give tenants at the start of their tenancy. From 1 October, all landlords must install working smoke alarms on every storey of the property used for living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation where solid fuel is used. Landlords who dont do this can be fined up to 5,000. For new tenancies starting on or after 1 October: G Landlords must give tenants a new information booklet How to rent: the checklist for renting in England along with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and gas safety certificate at the start of their tenancy G Landlords must use a new prescribed form for Section 21 notices (eviction notices for shorthold tenancies) and cannot serve the notice within the first four months of tenancy G A Section 21 Notice will only be valid for six months from the date it is given and cannot be validly served if a tenant was not been given the booklet, EPC certificate and gas safety certificate at the start of the tenancy G Tenants have additional protection to stop retaliatory eviction for example, evictions following complaints about the state of repair of the property Four Manchester loan sharks are sentenced WAVEBREAKMEDIA / SHUTTERSTOCK A family of loan sharks including a father, mother and daughter who illegally lent at least 178,000 to desperate people in Stockport, Manchester has been sentenced. Family associate Angela Rutherford, 51, was also sentenced for her part in the scheme. Ian Wilson, 53, and his wife, Alison Wilson, 54 who was described as being at the heart of the operation lent out the cash in the space of just 12 months. Their daughter, Cherie Wilson, 35, collected and enforced payments, while Rutherford canvassed new clients for the Wilsons, and maintained the loan record books. In September, solicitor Simon Mortimer told Manchester Crown Court that the family had targeted those on the nancial breadline. The Wilsons and Rutherford were investigated by the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT), working in partnership with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and Greater Manchester Police. In March 2014, documentation seized from the Wilsons home showed that Ian and Alison Wilson had issued loans to more than 100 people. The amount of money lent out varied between 50 and 200 a time. Tony Quigley, head of the England IMLT, said: They [the Wilsons and Rutherford] were greedy and proteering on the backs of people with nowhere else to turn. Loan Sharks are not a community service and target people who can least afford it, often charging extortionate amounts of interest. We would urge anybody who is under the control of a loan shark to call us on 0300 555 2222 and we can help. Nationally, the Illegal Money Lending Teams have secured more than 324 prosecutions for illegal money lending and related activity, leading to 206 years worth of custodial sentences. They have written off nearly 63m of illegal debt and helped more than 26,000 victims. Investigation prompts Tesco supplier to use its loaf over light bread Tesco has withdrawn more than 66,000 packs of garlic bread slices after an investigation by Aberdeenshire Trading Standards discovered a number of packets on sale were underweight. During two visits to Tesco stores within Aberdeenshire, officers discovered that 39 packs of the supermarkets own-brand garlic bread slices had net weights below the declared weight and legal tolerance. One 290g pack was recorded as having a net weight of 229.8g, representing a 20 per cent deficiency. Food and drink sellers are governed by the Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006, which places legal liability in such circumstances on the packer of the goods and not the seller. The producer of the products, Bakkavor Foods, has since put in place a number of measures to avoid a repeat of the incident. Trading standards manager Wilma Urquhart said: We were pleased to see that the supermarket acted swiftly following the discovery. By issuing an emergency product withdrawal, batches worth 93,000 have been removed from the shelves.