Faisal Rahimi, who was the owner of Lil Amsterdam on St Mary Street, sold the products which were labelled as nicotine-free.
His business was raided by Southampton City Council’s trading standards team in May and September 2023, with officers seizing several devices.
During a hearing at Southampton Crown Court on Friday, it was heard that a number of the e-cigarettes seized breached UK regulations governing both nicotine strength and product labelling.
Rahimi, of Union Place, pleaded guilty to four charges of possession for supply of e-cigarettes in excess of the maximum nicotine volume on January 17, 2026.
Police officers seen on St Mary Street on Tuesday (Image: Shivalika Puri)
During an earlier hearing, Ed Elton, prosecuting, outlined the scale of the breaches, telling the court: “Many of these vapes exceeded the legal nicotine limit by five, six, seven times.
“Some also had packaging which suggested the product was nicotine-free, despite the vapes actually containing very high levels of nicotine.
“Mr Rahimi ran and owned the shop, and his father was one of the employees.”
Such products pose significant health risks, particularly when sold without accurate information about their contents, according to Crimestoppers.
Some of the items seized from Lil Amsterdam and two others stores in raids in 2023 (Image: Southampton City Council)
The investigation formed part of wider efforts to tackle the sale of illegal and unregulated vaping products in the city.
Rahimi was sentenced to a 12-month community order.
He must complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 120 hours of unpaid work.
Additionally, he must pay the court costs of £3,500, and a deprivation order has been made for the e-cigarettes.