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Peshawa Zada has been jailed for ‘repeated offending’ after around £100k worth of illegal products were seized from his shop in the city
A man has been jailed after he was caught selling thousands of pounds worth of illegal vapes and cigarettes in a Swansea shop. Peshawa Zada, 24 and originally from Iran, began running Bob Marley Vapes in St Helen’s Road in the city in 2023.
Before long the shop was being raided by officers from Swansea Council who seized illegal items that were being sold on the premises. This came to light after Zada was previously caught hiding thousands of cigarettes along with pouches of tobacco in wheelie bins at store he ran in Hull.
WalesOnline previously carried out an investigation into Bob Marley Vapes and its owner during which an undercover reporter was sold a Chinese-made vape boasting a tank capacity of 10ml – far above the 2ml legal limit meant to protect users from excessive nicotine intake, and packs of counterfeit cigarettes. You can read much more about that here.
Having pleaded guilty to a string of offences including participating in a fraudulent business, offering for sale goods bearing false trademarks, and supplying electronic cigarettes and tobacco products that breached regulations, Zada appeared to be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday, July 15. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.
Prosecution barrister Ben Jones told the court that in April 2022 officers from Humberside Police attended a shop in Hull where Zada was listed as the licence holder. After executing a warrant they went into a yard outside the store and found 17,820 cigarettes and 40 pouches of tobacco.
Further searches led to the discovery of almost 3,000 cigarettes in Zada’s car and several on his person. Many of them did not carry health warnings and were not permitted for sale in the UK, while more than 2,000 of them were counterfeit. According to Mr Jones, the total value of the goods seized was estimated at more than £12,000.
Following this incident, Zada moved to Swansea and began running Bob Marley Vapes, which was also noted as his address. In October 2023 the shop was visited by trading standards officers and 82 illegal vapes were seized.
Further visits were made to the store and, as Mr Jones told the court, each visit uncovered increased measures by Zada to conceal goods. Illegal products were discovered behind a false panel in a kitchen and in a storage unit above a fluorescent light, which was only revealed with the use of a fob. Mr Jones told the court the total value of goods found from the Swansea offences amounted to around £100,000.
Defence barrister John Allchurch said his client had moved to the UK when he was 18 and began running the shop in Swansea when he was just 22.
“This is a young man involved in business without the guidance and knowledge of people who know how to run a company,” said Mr Allchurch, who also cited his client’s “age, lack of maturity and genuine remorse” as mitigating factors.
Summing up the case, Her Honour Judge Catherine Richards said Zada’s offending was “deliberate, involved significant planning, and was conducted over a significant period of time”. She said that legitimate traders were put at a “financial disadvantage” when competing with illegal trading such as his.
Judge Richards agreed that Zada’s age was a mitigating factor, but said it was an aggravating factor that he was offending in the Swansea shop while under investigation for similar offences in the Hull store that he previously ran.
Judge Richards said: “Your repeated offending in my judgement means only an immediate custodial sentence is justified.”
Zada was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison. A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will take place at a later date, where a ruling will also be made with regards to any victim surcharge which may be payable by Zada.
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