A BLACKBURN newsagent has been banned from selling cigarettes and tobacco as part of a clampdown on the multi-billion pound bootleg business.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Mustaq Patel, who owns the newsagents at 191 Accrington Road, Blackburn, was found with more than 3,000 cigarettes and three kilograms of hand-rolling tobacco on which duty had not been paid.

It is only the second case in East Lancashire of its kind since new legislation to combat bootleg tobacco sales became law 18 months ago. The previous case was in Burnley.

Today, Mr Patel urged other traders not sell illegal cigarettes.

And Customs and Excise issued a warning to other newsagents to not indulge in selling bootleg tobacco.

Spokesman, Matthew King, said: "This case should send out the the message to others who may be doing the same.

"Short-term profit will lead to long-term loss."

Patel, 42, of Accrington Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to allowing his shop to be used for the sale of unmarked tobacco products.

He was fined £300 with £100 costs and banned from selling tobacco products for 60 days.

The court was told that on a previous occasion Customs and Excise officers had seized 26,000 cigarettes and 3.3kilograms of tobacco but not charged Patel.

John English, prosecuting, said the duty payable on the goods found in the shop on June 11 was £805.

He explained it was the first prosecution of its kind in Blackburn and stemmed from legislation introduced in June 2001 to combat cigarette and tobacco smuggling.

"Those activities represented 20 per cent of the market and were costing the Exchequer £3billion a year," said Mr English.

He said the maximum penalty available to the magistrates was a fine of up to £5,000 and a ban on selling tobacco products for up to six months.

Patel, who was not represented, said he knew he was doing wrong. The father-of-four said that, at the time, he was having business difficulties.

"I have been really stupid and I don't intend to do it again," he said.

"If I am banned from selling tobacco, my business will really suffer."

He added: "I would urge other traders not to do the same as I have.

"It's not worth all the hassle I went through."

Illegal cigarettes cost £9million to the treasury a day. Last year, Customs and Excise officers seized 1.9billion illegal cigarettes in the UK, of which 41 per cent were counterfeit products.

Mr King said: "We do ask the court to impose this kind of restriction on traders such as this who are found to be selling illegal cigarettes.

"As well as costing the country billions of pounds a year, it creates an unfair playing field for other traders who are abiding by the law."