A financial investigation into Fratton Food Store owner Mr Ali Kader Ismil has resulted in a Proceeds of Crime Act Confiscation Order totalling £53,480.49.
In April 2024 Mr Kader Ismil was convicted of 14 counts of possession and supply of fake branded cigarettes, smuggled non-UK cigarettes and unregulated black-market cigarettes known as ‘cheap whites’. He was also convicted of one count of money laundering. Following this an investigation was launched to look at the financial gain from the illegal activities, resulting in the new confiscation order.
If the order isn’t paid within three months Mr Kader Ismil will face a prison sentence. The new order is in addition to a sentence of 15 months, suspended for 18 months, and 150 hours unpaid work given at a sentencing hearing in June 2025.
Fellow owner of the store, Mr Salar Karim Karam had previously been given a confiscation order of £27,260.20, taking the total confiscation for the store owners to more than £80,000.
Portsmouth City Council’s Trading Standards service brought this action for the supply of more than 45,000 counterfeit cigarettes from the shop.
Natalie Brahma-Pearl, Chief Executive of Portsmouth City Council said: “We are very pleased this conviction order will prevent this offender profiting from their crime and hopefully it will keep Portsmouth residents a little safer by acting as a deterrent to any other businesses. Honest shopkeepers’ trade is harmed by illegal sales of tobacco. The Council is on their side so we will do all we can to prevent and detect dishonest trading. We are committed to investigating businesses and individuals who break the law and bringing them to justice. Those selling counterfeit items and tobacco products will be caught and risk severe penalties.”
Counterfeit cigarettes are unregulated and often contain dangerous levels of harmful substances including heavy metals and other noxious carcinogens, higher than in legal products which have strict controls during manufacture. The black market in fake and smuggled tobacco is an extremely profitable revenue stream for organised crime groups and has been linked to other serious trafficking offences such as drugs and people.
The council’s Trading Standards team help to protect residents from unscrupulous traders and ensure that businesses comply with the law. The team works with trained tobacco detection dogs to sniff out illegal tobacco at premises across the city, often based on information provided by members of the public or other businesses.
If you know or suspect businesses in Portsmouth that are supplying illicit tobacco, you can report it at trading.standards@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. More information at www.portsmouth.gov.uk/trading-standards