A decision by a shop owner in Kenton to buy illegal cigarettes and tobacco to sell on to his customers at a profit has ended up costing him more than £1,000.

Amrik Singh Arora kept the illicit goods under the counter in Good Morning Superstore in Streatfield Road, where they were discovered by trading standard officers from Harrow Council during a routine inspection.

The officers seized 33 boxes of 20-pack cigarettes, five tobacco pouches and 105 chewing tobacco all with no health warnings in English.

Arora claimed he bought them from a Sri Lankan man who he had never met before for £180, and admitted he knew they were against the law so kept them under the counter.

Last week at Willesden Magistrates’ Court he was ordered to pay £1,221.

Cllr Graham Henson, Harrow councillor for crime and community safety, said: “This business knowingly flouted the rules to make a quick buck.

“We regularly visit premises, and businesses who fail to comply with the rules will result in a hefty fine, or worse risk their business being shut down.”