Off-licence faces six-week suspension for selling illegal tobacco
A local convenience store in Noel Park has been issued with a six-week licence suspension after Council Trading Standard officers found that it had been selling illegal tobacco products.
Officers initially visited Star Food and Wine located on Westbury Avenue, N22 in January this year after receiving intelligence that the shop was selling illegal tobacco.
Although no evidence was found on this occasion, a locked safe was discovered and on their return to the store, detection dogs indicated the locked safe contained tobacco. Officers found over 1,000 illegal cigarettes with a Duty value of over £400. In addition to non-payment of the Duty fee, the tobacco also pictured incorrect health warnings and was not in standardised packaging as required for the UK market.
Prior to the second visit in March, test purchases were also carried out which confirmed that illegal tobacco had been sold from the same shop.
Following a hearing between Trading Standards and Public Health, the Committee suspended the owner’s licence for six weeks. In addition to this, the committee amended several existing conditions on the license and imposed additional requirements to ensure full access is available to officers, including locked areas upon future inspections.
Cllr Dana Carlin, Cabinet Member for House Services, Private Renters and Planning, said: “Licence holders must face up to their responsibilities and fulfil their legal requirements. Our Trading Standard team are doing everything they can to make sure this happens and this is an excellent example.
“The law is there to protect our residents and keep them safe. We hope the action taken against Star Food and Wine will result in the licensee abiding by the law in the future and encourage other businesses to do the same.
“I strongly urge residents to help us protect them and their loved ones by reporting any concerns they may have about the mis-selling of illegal tobacco.”
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