A man has admitted selling illegal cigarettes from a town centre shop.

Daniel O'Connell, of Cumberland Street, Workington, pleaded guilty to three charges which related to 10 packets of cigarettes sold in the Euro Star Mini Mart on Duke Street in Whitehaven on November 24, 2020.

The charges he admitted were:

  • Selling goods, with a view to gain, or with intent to cause loss to another, and without the consent of the proprietor, 10 (20 cigarette) Richmond King size cigarettes to James Hamilton, bearing, or the packaging of which bore, a sign identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, a registered trademark, Richmond.
  • Supplying a tobacco product for smoking, 10 units (packets of 20) Richmond King size cigarettes, the unit pack of which did not carry a combined health warning.
  • Producing or supplying a tobacco product, 10 (20 cigarette) packets of Richmond King size cigarettes , that did not comply with the requirements of the regulations in that the external packaging was not coloured or shaded panatone 448C with a matt finish (dark brown packaging).

Appearing at Workington Magistrates' Court on Friday, O'Connell was given a 12-month conditional discharge and must pay £85 costs and a £22 surcharge to fund victim services.