A Kirklees off-licence selling cigarettes that have links to “serious organised criminality” is to have its licence reviewed next week.
Sitting at 618 Huddersfield Road in Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, is Ravensthorpe Off-Licence. The shop’s current licence, which allows alcohol to be sold for consumption off the premises seven days a week between the hours of 8am and 11pm, was granted on 30 January, 2024, despite major concerns from a local cllr for the impact this would have on the local area.
However, the reason for the review is not due to alcohol sales but the sale of illegal cigarettes.
The off-licence has failed several test purchases carried out by West Yorkshire Police (WYP) and Trading Standards, with each authority successfully purchasing illegal cigarettes. On 4 March, 2025, a WYP officer bought an illegal 20 pack of Marlborough Gold for £7.50. Packets of open cigarettes, believed to be being sold individually, were also found. The following month, a Trading Standards officer purchased an illegal pack of Richmond cigarettes for £3.50.
22 April, 2025 saw officers across both authorities search the premises for illegal tobacco. Here, they found 26 20-packs of illegal cigarettes in a bag behind the counter, along with 115 disposable electronic vapes on display for sale. These had a tank capacity larger than the maximum permitted of 2ml nicotine containing liquid, also making them illegal.
A statement from Trading Standards officer, Noreen Akhtar, explains: “The packaging of the cigarettes found behind the counter is not the correct colour as required by The Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 and the prescribed health warnings are not present in English as required by the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. From discrepancies in the packaging of some of the cigarettes and the foreign excise stamps present on others, I believe them to be a mix of counterfeit and smuggled items.
“The sale of Counterfeit/Illicit Tobacco products is not a minor breach of Trading Regulations but is in fact Serious Organised Criminality. These items which cannot be legally sold in the UK are smuggled into the country on a vast scale. The Profits of this illegal trade going to criminals while the treasury is deprived of the Tax/Excise. The current yearly loss in revenue is in excess of £2.5bn which in turn deprives public services of funding.”
The authorities believe the off-licence is failing to uphold the licensing objectives of: the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; and the protection of children from harm. As a result, a review is being carried out by Kirklees Council’s Licensing Panel on Monday (7 July).
Ravensthorpe Off-licence previously made the headlines under different, un-related, ownership as the off-licence failed a test purchase by West Yorkshire Police (WYP) in August 2023, which resulted in alcohol being sold to a child. In this instance, the licence holder – the person responsible for the day-to-day operation of the shop surrendered the licence immediately.
.){kind=link}