A JUDGE has said counterfeit cigarettes sold in Bradford stores can make an already harmful habit even more dangerous.

Judge Colin Burn made the comments while sentencing a Bradford shopkeeper who was found with a stash of counterfeit cigarettes worth £28,000 at his store.

He said “anyone with an ounce of sense” knew that smoking was bad for your health, and that cheap knock offs like the ones being sold in this case were likely to be much more harmful than the genuine item.

Omer Mohammed Karim Jaf, 35, appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced for 10 charges relating to the sale of counterfeit tobacco in his store – Local Mini Market on Thornton Lane.

He pleaded guilty to all the charges at Magistrates Court last month, when the court heard the contraband was worth around £28,000.

Jaf, 35, of Carr Bottom Road, had been brought to court by West Yorkshire Trading Standards after over 110,000 counterfeit cigarettes were found in a visit to the store In January 2021.

The court was told that numerous attempts had been made to engage with Jaf after his crimes were uncovered, but he failed to attend multiple interviews.

Legal proceedings eventually began earlier this year.

Ella Embleton, prosecuting, told the court that at the time of the visit a man was found working in the store who was legally not able to work in the UK.

She also said the store was unlicensed.

Lydia Pearce, defending, said at the time of the visit Jaf was preoccupied with family medical issues, and had left an employee to run the business on a day-to-day basis. She said: “He accepts he was the boss, and he was responsible for what is going on in his business.”

She said he was “winding down” the business, and was in the process of selling off the last remaining legal stock. He would struggle to pay any large fines for his crimes.

Referring to why courts take a dim view to counterfeit cigarettes, Judge Burn said: “The principal is not to maximise the profits of tobacco companies; it is protecting customers from harmful products.

“Anyone with any ounce of sense knows cigarettes are harmful to health.

“If any item is counterfeit it can be harmful. In the case of cigarettes, it could be the case that counterfeits are far more harmful than the genuine thing.”

He handed Jaf a 12-month community order which will include 10 days of rehabilitation activities. He will also need to carry out 120 hours of community service.

Considering Jaf’s finances, Judge Burn said he would not have to pay the £3,100 costs to Trading Standards – meaning the investigation will have instead have to be funded by the taxpayer.

He ordered him to pay £700 court costs. His defence said that with Jaf planning on closing the store he may struggle to pay this. They argued for these costs to be reduced to £350, but Judge Burn pointed out he had already vastly reduced the costs the prosecution had asked for.