Shopkeeper’s Alcohol License Revoked Following Discovery of Counterfeit Goods

A shopkeeper has had his alcohol license withdrawn after more than 8,000 counterfeit cigarettes were discovered during a search of his premises. Asso Mohammed Ali, the license holder for Ela Polski Sklep, located in Manningham, saw his license rescinded due to what was characterized as a “blatant disregard of the law”. This decision came after West Yorkshire Trading Standards visited the establishment in February and found counterfeit tobacco and illegal vapes with an estimated value of £12,000. Mr. Ali did not attend the scheduled meeting, and his license was subsequently revoked in his absence. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Bradford Council’s District Licensing Panel was informed that Trading Standards had received complaints about the business on Oak Lane selling illicit tobacco. During a test purchase conducted in November 2023, an undercover officer witnessed a customer buying 10 packets of counterfeit cigarettes for £160. When officers revisited the shop in February, they located illegal cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco “hidden in a custom-made concealment built into the sales counter and in a box in the toilet at the rear of the store”. Officers also found over 250 disposable electronic cigarettes for sale in the shop, each having a tank capacity exceeding the maximum permitted 2ml. Their official report concluded: “The retail price of these items is around £12,000 which demonstrates the level of criminality involved.” Trading Standards argued at a meeting on Thursday that the sale of illegal cigarettes demonstrated Mr. Ali’s unsuitability to hold an alcohol license. David Mullins of Trading Standards stated: “By selling counterfeit products he has shown a blatant disregard for the law and licensing objectives.”