A couple whose chain of shops was repeatedly found to be selling illicit cigarettes and tobacco have been ordered to handover thousands of pounds in cash.

Canterbury Crown Court was told that Tatjana Cekanova, 60, of Stirling Way, Ramsgate, runs the Baltic Branch Limited food store chain that has branches in Dover, Ramsgate and Margate, along with Andrius Rickus, 39, also of Sitlring Way.

Between August 2011 and July 2013, thousands of illegal cigarettes and 13.7kg of hand-rolling tobacco were seized from the shops by officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

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The pair were arrested in July 2014 and their home searched. A total of 40,000 non-UK duty paid cigarettes and 10kg of illicit hand-rolling tobacco was seized, as well as £21,277 and €2,100 in cash.

Searches of the shops found CCTV footage of illicit cigarettes being sold from under the counter.

From the visits and searches alone, investigators calculated that £19,901 had been lost in evaded duty.

VIDEO: CCTV shows the couple selling illegal tobacco

Alan Tully, assistant director of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: “This couple thought nothing of stealing public money to line their own pockets by selling illicit cigarettes and tobacco from under the counter.

“The trade in illicit tobacco costs the UK around £2 billion a year, but HMRC is clamping down to ensure there is a level playing field for honest, hard-working retailers who have to compete with criminals.

“We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco to contact our 24-hour hotline on 0800 595000.”

Cekanova pleaded guilty to the fraudulent evasion of excise duty and money laundering last month. Today she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Rickus pleaded guilty to harbouring excise goods. He was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,250 in court costs.

The seized cash was forfeited at Canterbury Magistrates Court today, meaning £21,277 and €2,100 will be returned to the public purse.

Since 2000, HMRC, working with other enforcement agencies, has more than halved the size of the illicit market in cigarettes.

In the last two years alone, more than 3.5 billion illicit cigarettes and more than 599 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco have been seized resulting in 848 prosecutions.

HMRC can also levy civil penalties on anyone handling, using or supplying non-duty paid tobacco products. Penalties introduced in April 2010 range from 10 to 100% of the possible lost revenue.