A former north-east newsagent has admitted having hundreds of fake cigarettes in his store.
Aberdeen City Council’s trading standards team raided Tony’s Newsagent’s in Torry on May 22 last year, and discovered five cartons of smokes hidden in a bag in a back room.
They had been branded with the Winstons label, but officers believed the cigarettes were fake and sent them away for testing, which confirmed it.
Yesterday Shriraj Ragindha, who used to own the local store, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted being in possession of the illegal goods on that one day last year.
Representing the first offender, solicitor Ian Hingston said his client had not intended to sell the cigarettes, which he claimed had been left there by someone else.
He said since the incident his client has closed the shop after suffering from a serious stroke.
Mr Hingston said the 45-year-old, of Flat A, 45 Mansfield Road, Torry, could no longer walk without the aid of a stick and had difficulties remembering things.
He asked Sheriff Christine McCrossan to deal with his client leniently and said, as he is no longer trading, he would never be able to commit the same crime again.
He also asked her to take into account that his family’s income had now become greatly reduced.
Mr Hingston said there had never been any similar incidents at the store, which played a large part in Torry’s community.
Sheriff McCrossan said that when taking everything into account it would be in the public interest to admonish Ragindha.
