THE OWNER of a supermarket has been convicted of possessing illegal cigarettes and tobacco for sale.

Kuljeet Singh Grover, the owner of Grover Superstore in Canterbury Avenue, Slough, lost his premises licence in August for alcohol and cigarettes, meaning he can no longer sell them.

And he has now been convicted and fined for possessing the illegal products, which did not bear the required picture health warnings – and the warnings which were in place were not written in English.

He pleaded guilty at Reading Magistrates’ Court last Friday and was fined £306 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £60 and council costs of £1,790.

The tobacco company that provided Mr Grover's gantry had also pulled it after learning of the breaches.

In March following a tip off, Slough Borough Council trading standards raided Grover Superstore and a trained tobacco detection dog found illegal tobacco and cigarettes under the counter in sweet boxes.

Councillor Arvind Dhaliwal, cabinet member for regulation and consumer protection, said: “Smoking is expensive and deliberately so to discourage people from starting and encourage smokers to quit.

“Though there may be demand for cheap cigarettes, smuggled in from abroad, it is against the law to sell them and puts honourable and law-abiding shop owners at a disadvantage.

“Mr Grover has been cautioned twice before for similar offences; we can only hope that now he has lost his licence and been convicted and fined, he may have learned his lesson.

“This should serve as a warning to other shop owners; we are willing to take swift action against law breakers who are putting our residents at risk.”

The Observer had previously reported how Mr Grover sold two minors, aged 13 and 15, a bottle of Lambrini during a 2016 test purchase. He claimed they had looked much older.