A shopkeeper was fined more than £4,500 after he was caught with a haul of illegal cigarettes.

Iulian Duta, director of D&D Ro Ltd, Edgware, was ordered to pay £4,536 following a hearing a Willesden Magistrates Court.

It followed an investigation by Brent and Harrow trading standards teams, who uncovered several packets of dodgy cigarettes at his off-licence.

Duta received previous convictions for similar offences in the past, while his shop’s alcohol licence had been revoked by Harrow Council.

Officers found 68 packets of foreign labelled cigarettes behind the counter, with a further eight near the till without English labelling.

They explained that Duta claimed a customer had asked him to stock and sell the products so he could support his family financially.

Cllr Varsha Parmar, who is responsible for the environment at Harrow Council, said: “People like Duta make me angry – they are only interested in making a quick buck even if it means putting the public at risk.

“It’s despicable, and I am glad he got smoked out by our trading standards officers.

“Our job is to protect people and we will continue to bring the law onto rogue traders who think they can operate like this.”

She reminded anyone who suspects businesses of selling illegal tobacco products to report them to trading standards on 03454 040506.