Two shops on West Derby Road, Tuebrook, have had their premises licenses revoked after Liverpool City Council discovered they were selling illicit tobacco products.
L6 Local Store and The Park Food Store & Off Licence were both issued closure orders by the courts earlier this month following in-depth investigations by the Council’s public protection team.
As both premises were licensed to sell alcohol, the closures triggered a licence review. Last week, the Licensing Committee agreed to remove both licences.
L6 Local Store was first brought to the team’s attention in November of last year, where six undercover test purchases of illicit tobacco and cigarettes were carried out.
In February, 130 Viagra tablets were discovered behind the counter and inside the shop’s till. A separate visit by Environmental Health found mice droppings and mouldy food on sale.
Officers also noticed that the CCTV in the store was pointed at the ceiling. Despite being told it had been knocked by accident; a review of the footage saw a staff member intentionally redirecting the camera with a stick.
The owner of the shop was issued a warning but chose to continue with their illegal activity.
During a follow-up visit in July, officers found a hidden concealment within the shop’s stockroom, which contained almost 9,000 illicit cigarettes and 11 pouches of unregulated hand rolling tobacco. An additional 10,000 illicit cigarettes were discovered in a van parked outside the premises.
Similarly, the shop next door was found to be carrying out its own illegal activity.
Single use vapes were found to be sold from the shop in both June and October of last year. When undercover Council officers attempted to make purchases of illicit tobacco and cigarettes, they were served by staff.
In July of this year, officers found a concealed space within the stockroom with almost 13,000 illicit cigarettes inside, alongside 14 pouches of tobacco.
Unregulated vapes, cigarettes and tobacco could contain banned ingredients and may pose a serious health risk to anyone using them. Single use vapes were banned by the Government last year.
Rules around the sale of vapes are set out in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.
Viagra should only be sold following a consultation with a qualified pharmacist.
Anyone who believes a shop is selling illicit goods can report it on our website, or through Crimestoppers. People can also report a shop they believe is selling age-restricted items to anyone underage on the Council website, or via Trading Standards.
Councillor Harry Doyle, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture said: “These shops repeatedly chose to break the law, despite being warned and given opportunities to put things right. They put customers at risk and undermined honest businesses that do things the right way.
“We are determined to protect the health of our residents and support legitimate local traders. When businesses engage in this kind of criminal activity, we will not hesitate to take action.
“Our team’s investigations have helped remove thousands of illegal products from our streets and sent a clear message that Liverpool will not tolerate businesses that profit from illegal and unsafe goods.”
