A TRADING standards swoop has led to a string of convictions and a £17,000 fine for a shopkeeper.

Manmeet Singh Kalra, owner of Slough Food and Wine in Farnham Road, was prosecuted by Slough Borough Council after a pre-planned raid on a flat above his shop on September, 9 2014.

Trading standards officers, accompanied by police and licensing officers, seized £35,000 worth of illegal tobacco products from a bedroom and a locked cupboard.

The haul included 1,702 50g packs of hand rolling tobacco and 702 packets of cigarettes, all of which broke labelling laws by not carrying English health warnings.

Officers also found eight people sharing the four-bed flat, with a family of two adults and two children living in one bedroom, enlisting the council’s neighbourhood services team to inspect the flat.

One bedroom had a damp and mould problem and the electrics throughout the flat were found to be not safe.

Officers also discovered the flat wasn’t licensed as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) - a legal requirement for any property of three or more storeys where five or more people from two or more households are living.

Mr Kalra, 39, was sentenced at Reading Magistrates’ Court on August 25, after admitting possession for supply of 2,404 illegal tobacco products, failing to license a HMO, failing to maintain the electrical system, failing to keep the bedroom in good and clean repair, and failing to display his contact details in a prominent location.

He was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £17,012.

Cllr Sohail Munawar, commissioner for social and economic inclusion, said: “What began as a trading standards operation quickly became a much bigger investigation when officers discovered Mr Kalra’s activities went beyond possessing illegal tobacco.

“The state of the flat compromised the safety and wellbeing of his tenants, which is reflected in the weighty fine he got for the housing offences alone.

“But selling smuggled tobacco is also a serious matter, as it undercuts legitimate sales, damages the local economy and puts customers’ health at risk.

“We will continue to do all we can to stamp it out, which includes prosecuting shopkeepers like Mr Kalra, who clearly didn’t take his legal responsibilities seriously.”

Following the council's intervention, Mr Kalra completed a schedule of works to make the flat safe.