A Plumstead trader has been fined after a sniffer dog uncovered fake Polish cigarettes in a disused printer.

Sadiq Jan, manager of Seeray Off Licence in Bannockburn Road, pleaded guilty on Monday (August 24) at Bexley Magistrates Court to four offences relating to the storage and supply of counterfeit cigarettes.

The counterfeit Polish tobacco was found by a sniffer dog after an inspection by Trading Standards Officers in January this year.

The stash also included ten packs of Malboro Gold intended for Lithuania.

The warning signs, while genuine, were not in English which breaches UK laws.

MORE TOP STORIES Some were not compliant with UK fire safety standards, posing a serious risk to anyone who bought them.

Jan confirmed friends bought the cigarettes on their travels to Eastern Europe, and he was aware the duty was not paid on them and that some were counterfeit.

Jan was fined a total of £1,000 and ordered to pay costs totalling £2,412.

Coun Jackie Smith, member for community safety and environment, said: “People who are tempted to buy tobacco ‘under the counter’ or from illicit sources need to understand that they are buying unlicensed and untested products which pose a real risk to their health and – through the fire risk – to the health of their families.

The find was part of Greenwich Council’s wider operation against counterfeit tobacco, the ‘Keep it Out’ campaign, which launched last month.