A NEWPORT shopkeeper who made up to £3,000-a-day selling counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes has seen his jail sentence slashed by judges in London.

Majid Alshateri, aged 41, opened up the shop in Commercial Street and used it as a front to sell dodgy tobacco products, pocketing up to £300,000.

But he was caught out by Newport council's trading standards investigation and his crimes were put to an end last year.

He admitted nine counts of possessing or selling counterfeit goods and was jailed for two years and eight months at Newport Crown Court in February.

But senior judges at the Court of Appeal said that was too long and slashed Alshateri's sentence.

'The proper sentence was one to two years,' said Mr Justice William Davis.

The court heard, over 18 months from 2013 to 2015, Alshateri had sold fake Amber Leaf tobacco and Mayfair cigarettes.

Trading standards officers from Newport City Council conducted test purchases after learning of the scam. Thousands of cigarettes and a large quantity of tobacco were seized by officers in raids during 2014.

Sentencing at Newport Crown Court, Judge David Wynn Morgan said Alshateri had made between £100,000 and £300,000 from his crimes.

He made matters worse by continuing the 'sophisticated fraud' even after being warned by trading standards officers.

But lawyers representing Alshateri, of Oxney Road, Peterborough, argued that the judge had punished him too harshly.

Giving judgment, Mr Justice Davis, sitting with Lord Justice Gross and Judge Gregory Dickinson QC, said the sentence was too long.

Although Alshateri had no mitigation other than his guilty pleas, the prison term would be cut to two years, he said.

The court heard Alshateri had admitted seven counts of possession of goods with a counterfeit trademark and two counts of selling such goods.