Council officers also discovered Joey Discount Store in Lea Bridge Road had a number of counterfeit cigarettes and vapes, reports Marco Marcelline
A Leyton discount store has been fined over £15,000 for possessing counterfeit cigarettes and illegally selling a kitchen knife to a twelve-year-old.
Abu Ubaid, the owner of Joey Discount Store in Lea Bridge Road, pleaded guilty to the illegal sale of the knife at a Thames Magistrates Court hearing on Tuesday, 17th June.
The total of £15,398 in penalties, charges and costs was handed down by the court also included fines related to the possession of counterfeit cigarettes and vapes.
Waltham Forest’s Trading Standards Officers carried out a test purchase of age restricted products – with the assistance of two twelve-year-old children – at Joey’s Discount Store, on 22nd August 2024.
Ubaid reportedly blamed the knife sale on a trainee shop assistant with limited English skills who had been left in charge of the shop after Ubaid had a family emergency.
The seller of the knife advised officers that she was not aware that the sale of a knife to a minor constituted an offence.
Further investigation at the store uncovered a quantity of illegal tobacco products, including counterfeit Benson and Hedges and e-cigarettes. According to Waltham Forest Council, Ubaid told officers that the seized cigarettes and e-cigarettes were not for sale and were acquired as gifts from a friend for his personal use.
Thames Magistrates Court ordered Ubaid to pay £8,333 for the underage sale of a kitchen knife, a combined £3,666 fine for possession of illegal cigarettes and vapes, plus a victim surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £1,399.
Khevyn Limbajee, Waltham Forest’s cabinet member for community safety, said: “Leaving an unattended trainee in charge of a business is a grave abdication of responsibility and an unacceptable excuse for the underage sale of a potentially dangerous weapon.
“We owe it to our residents to protect them from such recklessness and we will prosecute anyone who fails to protect young people and Waltham Forest more widely from harm.”
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