An application for a convenience store to get an alcohol licence has been withdrawn, after police alleged the applicant was in fact an alias of a convicted criminal.
This summer, a man named Morad Omer applied for a premise licence for 357a Idle Road that would allow the store to sell booze between 7am and midnight. Mr Omer would be the designated premises supervisor.
The licence was due to be decided by a panel of councillors last week – but at the start of the meeting, members were told the application had been withdrawn by the applicant.
A report that went to the committee contained surprising details about the applicant, with police suggesting Mr Omer is actually an alias of a man called Kirmanj Saleh – who has previously been convicted of charges relating to the sale of counterfeit cigarettes.
Police had urged councillors to refuse the licence.
A letter from police to the licensing panel said: “The Police believe that Morad Omer is an alias of Kirmanj Saleh who has been convicted of numerous offences for which he has subsequently been found guilty of.
“All of the offences were carried out in the Bradford District in 2019 and Mr Saleh was convicted of the offences at Bradford Crown Court on 18 May 2021.
“On 20 August, officers attended at 357a Idle Road. We asked the shop attendant if we could speak with Morad Omer. The attendant stated that he did not know anyone by that name. When asked who the owner of the business was, he stated that he only knows this person as “Jimmy”. He stated that Jimmy would be at Jimmy’s Off Licence, a store in Great Horton Road.
“When we attended there, we were again told that Jimmy was not present. The staff also confirmed that they have never heard of Morad Omer.
“We also visited the applicant’s home address where we spoke with the current occupant who confirmed that Morad Omer does not live at that address, and that the current occupant had lived there for five years.
“It is, therefore, our strong belief that Omer and Saleh are one and the same person (aka Jimmy).
“We made enquiries with the licensing team in Leeds Council and they confirmed that the personal licence number had, in fact, been revoked back in 2021.
“We would like to object to this application in full in the strongest terms.
“We have no confidence or assurance that the applicant can uphold the four licensing objectives due to all of the above. The applicant is also proposing that they, themselves, are the Designated Premises Supervisor for these premises, despite the fact that their personal licence has been revoked.”
