Shopkeeper jailed 22 months for illegal cigarette possession

Jutyar Jelal Salah, pictured in 2023, has been sentenced to 22 months in prison for possessing over 77,000 illegal cigarettes and 16kg (2st 5lb) of hand rolling tobacco.

Salah, a former shopkeeper, was caught by Trading Standards retrieving contraband cigarettes from a container for sale through a home delivery service. He owned Easy Shop on Station Street in Spalding and faced closure orders in September 2023 and April 2024 after illegal cigarettes were found during raids.

The 36-year-old was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court. Andy Wright, a principal Trading Standards officer, mentioned that despite the closure of his shop, Salah continued selling cigarettes from his car in Spalding town center. He was apprehended by police and Trading Standards officers retrieving illegal cigarettes from a storage container in the town center.

Insp Matthew Dickinson of Lincolnshire Police stated that Salah had opportunities for rehabilitation but chose to commit further offenses. The court's decision reflects the seriousness of such offenses and their impact on the community.