A Redbridge shop’s trading licence will be reviewed over claims it has been selling illicit tobacco.
Ashuin Stores, trading as AAA Convenience, was allegedly caught with thousands of cigarettes not intended for the UK market during an inspection by Redbridge Council’s trading standards team.
Officers uncovered 7,540 cigarettes and more than half a kilogram of rolling tobacco hidden in a photocopier and small cupboard during a visit last September, the council says.
The team seized the tobacco over suspicions it was illegal and did not comply with UK packaging regulations.
‘Illicit cigarettes’ are defined as those brought in from another country where the duty has not been paid, or do not meet packaging standards. Their sale “directly undermines the government’s smoking cessation policy,” the council says.
The 2023 visit was not the first time officers uncovered illicit tobacco in the Woodford Avenue premises. During an inspection in July 2021, hundreds of cigarettes were seized.
“The fact that two separate seizures of illicit cigarettes and tobacco has occurred at the premises is a concern for trading standards,” the council says.
It argued the trader “clearly has no regard for the legislation that applies to the UK sale of cigarettes and terms under the licensing act”.
The council’s licensing sub-committee, which determines and reviews trading permits, has been told to revoke Ashuin Stores’ licence.
Councils across the UK are required by law to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour through its licensing objectives.
In a report, published this week, an officer from the council’s trading standards said there was “concern the premises licence holder was disregarding the licensing objectives, [including] the protection of crime and disorder and public safety, with the continual alleged supply of illicit cigarettes and tobacco”.
The council’s licensing sub-committee will determine the review at a meeting on Tuesday 1 October.
In recent months, the committee has reviewed various applications for shops to extend their trading hours. Various bodies, including the Metropolitan Police, can put forward recommendations on whether they should be approved.
In May, a Fairlop restauranteur’s bid to extend his operating hours over ten weekends was rejected following an incident with a replica gun.
