Bognor Regis shop owner must pay over £105,000 after illegal tobacco sales
Barzan Aubid has been sentenced for counterfeit cigarette and illegal vape offences.
A shop owner in Bognor Regis has been ordered to pay more than £105,000 after being sentenced for selling counterfeit cigarettes, illegal vapes, and breaching trademarks and tobacco labelling regulations.
Barzan Aubid, director of Baltic Bognor Ltd, Richmond Road, was handed a 10-month suspended prison sentence, 65 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs at Portsmouth Crown Court on 16th January 2026.
His company received a £14,000 fine and a £2,000 victim surcharge.
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, confiscation orders were issued totalling £70,421.84 for Aubid personally and £14,093.69 for his company. Aubid has three months to pay these sums or face enforcement action.
West Sussex Trading Standards officers have conducted inspections of the premises since 2017, continuously uncovering counterfeit cigarettes, illegal vapes exceeding legal nicotine limits, and other non-compliant products.
On one occasion, cigarettes were found hidden inside orange juice cartons in the stockroom.
These ongoing breaches led to the revocation of Aubid’s alcohol licence in 2022. His appeal against the decision was rejected by Worthing Magistrates’ Court in January 2024.
This prosecution was brought by West Sussex Trading Standards, Working with West Sussex County Council Public Health and Arun District Council as part of wider efforts to tackle the sale of dangerous and illegal tobacco products.
Commenting on the case, Cllr Duncan Crow, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue, said:
“Illegal tobacco is a serious concern to public health, and taking steps to eradicate it from the county forms an important element of Our Council Plan and our priority to keep people safe.
“Counterfeit cigarettes can contain a wide range of hazardous substances and we would discourage anybody from buying any seemingly bargain-priced cheap tobacco.”
Cllr Crow highlighted the importance of seizing illicit gains linked to such offences, saying: “Our Trading Standards Team of Accredited Financial Investigators will ensure action is taken to recover any benefit from this type of criminal conduct.”