A FORMER Yiewsley trader who hid more than 60,000 counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes in a flat above his off-licence has been prosecuted by Hillingdon Council.

Inderjit Singh, 57, was ordered to pay back £39,070.27 under the Proceeds of Crime Act and carry out 80 hours of unpaid work following a trading standards operation.

Singh, the former owner of Falling Lane Superstore, had pleaded guilty at Harrow Crown Court to 10 offences relating to selling fake and smuggled tobacco.

The haul had a street value equivalent to the amount Singh was ordered to pay back under a confiscation order.

Singh first came on the council’s radar in April 2018 when trading standards officers acted on reports of illegal activity. Two undercover test purchases confirmed the business was supplying smuggled cigarettes, sold for £5 per pack.

Following the seizure, the council revoked the alcohol licence for the business and Singh was removed as the designated supervisor. The shop is now under new ownership.

Cllr Douglas Mills, Cabinet Member for Commerce, said: “Singh thought he was above the law – but, thanks to the hard work of our officers, the law caught up with him.”