A STASH of dangerous illegal cigarettes was found hidden inside a hole in the wall at a convenience store.

Undercover Trading Standards officers secretly bought the foreign fags from the All Sorts store in Montague Street, Worthing.

Sniffer dog Yoyo then found almost 100 packets of tobacco and cigarettes were found behind the till and hidden in the wall of the stock room.

Lab tests found the cigarettes were unsafe and did not self-extinguish like legal ones, meaning they posed a serious fire risk.

Shopkeeper Goran Jalal - who had already received a written warning for selling illegal tobacco from the shop, was prosecuted.

Jalal, of no fixed address - pleaded guilty at Worthing Magistrates’ Court court and was sentenced to an 18 month community order with 15 rehabilitation days, 80 hours community service and £511 costs.

West Sussex Trading Standards Manager Richard Sargeant said: “Cheap, illicit tobacco can be attractive for people on low incomes.

“But the price of this could be fatal.

“These illegal cigarettes do not self-extinguish, are dangerous, and have led to house fires in the past.

“Our message to anyone out there who is engaged in the illegal tobacco trade is to be warned – we will prosecute you.”

The sniffer dog found the cigarettes and tobacco behind the till and in the wall of the stockroom at the store in November 2016. They recovered 41 pouches of foreign tobacco and 45 packets of 20 cigarettes.

It followed two test purchases successfully carried out by undercover West Sussex Trading Standards officers earlier in the year.

Trading Standards had previously sent a written warning to Jalal in August 2016 after seizing illegal tobacco from the same premises in May.

Jalal told Worthing council he no longer owns the shop and when The Argus tried to contact the shop yesterday no one answered.

UK taxes on tobacco are among the highest in the world, leading many smokers to seek out cheaper alternatives from abroad or from the black market.

HMRC estimates that over the past 13 years up to £51.9 billion has been lost in tax revenue.

Following an investigation by The Argus in 2014 into the sale of illegal tobacco in Brighton and Hove, honest shopkeepers said that the fraudsters were costing them trade as cash-strapped customers sought out a bargain.

If you have any information about illegal tobacco salescall the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 04 05 06 or by reporting details online at www.westsussex.gov.uk/TSreport.