MAXIM PETRICHUK / SHUTTERSTOCK News Illicit tobacco trade targeted in national operation Six-year sentence for car dealer who failed to repay 6.2m Kirk Michael Claus, 51, of Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, has been sentenced to more than six years in jail for failing to pay back 6.2m gained from criminal activity. The proceeds of crime confiscation order was made against Claus in December 2014, when he was given six months to pay back the money. His sentence 2,266 days in prison was handed down at Leeds Magistrates Court in April, following his failure to pay even after several extensions. It replaces a default sentence of seven years imprisonment imposed in 2014. This latest conviction comes as a result of continued work by the National Trading Standards Scambuster Team, Yorkshire and the Humber, and other enforcement agencies. The investigation, which originally led to the largest seizure of vehicles from a rogue trader in the UK, found the total criminal benefit from the illegal enterprise to be 26.5m. PISAPHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK Sandwell Trading Standards has seized more than 15,800 of illicit tobacco as part of a national intelligence-led operation. In total, 33,750 cigarettes and 1.9kg of hand-rolling tobacco were discovered in two shops during raids coordinated by CTSI and supported by the Department of Health. The shops are now facing further investigation and potential court action. The success is part of national initiative known as Operation Henry 2 tackling illicit tobacco supplies in nine regions of England in a sixmonth period, using specialist tobacco detection dogs from Wagtail UK. The animals uncovered concealed stashes of tobacco in two shops, inSmethwick and Oldbury. The seizures included chew tobacco without adequate warnings, foreign-labelled cigarettes and counterfeit hand-rolling tobacco, that cannot be legally sold in the UK. Products were hidden in various places, including in a cellar and under a hidden compartment in a front counter. Leon Livermore, CTSI chief executive, said: The illegal tobacco trade costs taxpayers about 2bn per year in lost revenue and is known to fund organised crime networks and criminal gang activity. Together we are winning the battle and figures show that the market share of illicit cigarettes has dropped from 21 per cent to nine per cent in the last decade. Intelligence-led investigations like Operation Henry 2 keep illegal cigarettes and tobacco off the market and away from children and young people. Bob Charnley, trading standards manager at Sandwell Council, said: Our trading standards officers are working hard to keep these illegal products off the streets and are cracking down on the businesses and individuals that out the law. Operation Henry was the first large-scale, coordinated trading standards investigation of its kind to tackle illegal tobacco supply,andresulted in the seizure of more than 2.5 million cigarettes worth 614,488. Court tells Birmingham retailer to pay 100k in three months or face two years in jail The power of partnerships To make it easier for Hertfordshires residents to find a reputable trader, Hertfordshire County Council has joined forces with the national endorsement scheme, Which? Trusted Traders. Dave Quinton, head assessor of Which? Trusted Traders, says the partnership recognises responsible businesses, while making it easier for consumers to find a reputable trader. Through this new partnership, traders undergo a process of assessment by Which? and Hertfordshire Trading Standards including face-to-face interviews, financial checks, and even national trading standards database checks to become endorsed. Since its launch in 2013, Which? Trusted Traders has grown to become a nationally recognised standard for business. Over and above assessing traders, the scheme works with businesses, helping to bring them up to speed with compliance and the standards of the scheme itself. A Birmingham businessman was ordered to pay 100,000 at Birmingham Crown Court in May, after being found in possession of alarge quantity of counterfeit goods. Phonetec UK and company director Mohammed Akhtar Musejee trading as Akees in Kingstanding pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing (10 April 2015) to 19 offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994, relating to the possession of counterfeit goods, including designer clothing, headphones, tobacco and cosmetics. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Musejee was ordered to payback 100,000 after the court determined that he had made this sumfrom his criminal activity. If the amount is not paid within three months, Musejee faces a prison sentence of two years. He must also pay3,000 in costs. Musejees business, Phonetec UK, was fined 100 for each of the 19offences and was ordered to pay a total of 1,200 towards court andprosecution costs. Musejee had previously received an eight-week suspended prison sentence for his involvement in the crime, at a hearing on 17July 2015. Birmingham City Council brought this case after trading standards officers received a complaint from a customer who bought a pair of Beats headphones from the shop and became suspicious they might be fake after they proved to be faulty. Trading standards officers inspecting the premises on 24 January 2014, seized more than 1,800 items suspected to be counterfeit goods about 90 per cent of the shops stock which had an estimated street value of 16,000. The items in question bore registered trademarks such as Adidas, Dolce & Gabbana, UGG, Louis Vuitton, Apple, Hugo Boss and Beats, suggesting they were genuine products even though they did not have the consent of the companies in question. The products were subsequently examined by the companies representatives who confirmed they were indeed counterfeit. Phonetec UK, trading as Akees, was allowed to continue trading during this investigation, and remains open.