Sheffield Mini-Market Owner Given Suspended Sentence for Selling Illegal Tobacco and Vapes

Key Points

• Defendant: Barzen Mahmood-Poor, 32, owner of Manor Mini-Market, City Road, Sheffield.
• Sentence: Six-month prison term suspended for 18 months; 180 hours of unpaid community work.
• Charges: Ten offences, including supplying counterfeit tobacco, breaching packaging and health warning rules, and selling oversized vapes.
• Seizures: Over 1,000 packs of illicit cigarettes, 265 pouches of rolling tobacco, and 132 illegal vapes from the shop, a neighbouring barbershop, and the defendant’s flat.
• Inspections: Test purchases in September 2023, March 2024, and June 2024 confirmed repeated illegal sales.
• Authorities’ stance: Sheffield City Council warns against risks to children and reaffirms commitment to tackling tobacco and vape-related harm.
• Public action: Citizens urged to report shops selling illegal vapes to Sheffield City Council Trading Standards or Citizens Advice.
• Context: Disposable vapes are banned in the UK to reduce youth appeal and environmental harm.

A Sheffield mini-market owner has been handed a suspended prison sentence after being caught selling counterfeit tobacco and oversized vapes in repeated breaches of trading regulations.

Barzen Mahmood-Poor, 32, of City Road, Sheffield, and owner of Manor Mini-Market, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court where he admitted to 10 offences, including supplying counterfeit tobacco products, breaching packaging and health warning regulations, and selling disposable vapes exceeding the UK’s legal 2ml tank size.

The case, brought by Sheffield City Council Trading Standards, followed a series of undercover test purchases between September 2023 and June 2024, when illegal tobacco and vapes were bought directly from the shop.

In October 2023, trading standards officers and South Yorkshire Police raided the premises, discovering stashes of illicit cigarettes in the rear storeroom, under the counter, and in bags outside the shop. Further items were seized from Alan’s Barbers next door, and from Mahmood-Poor’s flat, where police also recovered significant quantities of cash.

In total, officers confiscated 265 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco, 132 illegal vapes, and more than 1,000 packs of illicit cigarettes. Subsequent visits in March 2024 uncovered additional oversized vapes behind the counter.

Sentencing Mahmood-Poor, the court imposed a six-month prison term, suspended for 18 months, along with 180 hours of unpaid work.

Councillor Joe Otten, Chair of Environmental Services and Regulation Policy Committee, welcomed the outcome:

“Traders who continually break the law and cause harm must be accountable for their actions. None of us want to see the public at risk, and in particular children. We continue our commitment to protecting the next generation from tobacco harm and those who target them with vapes.”

Members of the public are encouraged to report shops selling illegal tobacco and vapes directly to Sheffield City Council Trading Standards via the council’s website or through Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133).

The case comes amid the UK government’s wider ban on disposable vapes, introduced to reduce youth vaping rates and limit environmental waste.