Business Licence Rescinded Following Illegal Tobacco Discovery

The operating licence for a corner shop has been withdrawn following the discovery of counterfeit tobacco valued at approximately £11,000 in a locked outbuilding situated close by. Bradford Council’s Licensing Panel officially revoked the licence for The Corner Shop, located on Harrogate Road, during a meeting held on Thursday. This decision followed a review initiated by West Yorkshire Trading Standards. West Yorkshire Trading Standards indicated that the shop had a record of engaging in illegal sales activities. David Mullins, representing Trading Standards, stated that the consequences of businesses distributing illegal tobacco “caused the local economy to suffer”. He further elaborated: “In the outbuilding we found an iPad linked to the store in question’s CCTV, so anyone in there could monitor the activity in the shop.“There were no illegal items in the shop itself.“The business seems to continue to sell illegal tobacco. This impacts on legitimate stores and undermines their business, causes legal businesses to close and the local economy to suffer.” The panel received information that Awat Abdul Karim Mohamed, who owned the business when the raids occurred, had subsequently sold the enterprise but retained his status as the shop’s licence holder. Additionally, members were informed that the licence was scheduled for transfer to a different licensee in the near future. Mohamed asserted that he was disengaging from the business and had minimal participation in its operations over recent months. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the business had also received two written warnings in 2022, following the sale of counterfeit tobacco during two separate test purchases conducted at the premises. These test purchases were orchestrated by Trading Standards, utilizing an individual who acted as a customer to verify the store’s compliance with legal regulations. During the initial test purchase, conducted on 20 February of that year, a packet of cigarettes was acquired for £4, significantly below its standard retail price of £12. The counterfeit cigarettes were reportedly delivered to the store by a “runner” who retrieved them from an external location. A comparable test purchase took place two days subsequent to the first, on which occasion the “runner” was apprehended by police officers. Upon searching him, officers discovered multiple packets of illegal cigarettes, along with a set of keys providing entry to a small outbuilding situated behind the structures across from the shop. Images of the outbuilding were also presented to the panel, revealing what Trading Standards characterized as a “substantial quantity of counterfeit/ illicit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco”. The total confiscated amount comprised 612 packets of cigarettes and 45 pouches of hand rolling tobacco, collectively valued at approximately £11,000 at retail price.