£11,000 worth of counterfeit tobacco found in outbuilding

The licence for 1-3 Harrogate Road, known as The Corner Shop, was revoked at a meeting of Bradford Council’s Licensing Panel on Thursday, after Councillors were told Trading Standards had repeatedly found counterfeit tobacco being sold at the property.

But they were told the business has changed hands since the raid in February.

On one occasion officers uncovered a set up where a “runner” would bring the contraband from a nearby locked building that was hooked up to the shop’s CCTV – allowing the person guarding the counterfeit cigarettes to see what was happening in the store.

The panel was told that the owner of the business at the time of the raids, Awat Abdul Karim Mohamed, had since sold the business, but remained the licence holder for the shop.

The Corner Shop on Harrogate Road (Image: T&A)

He claimed he was stepping away from the business and had little involvement with it in recent months.

The review was brought by West Yorkshire Trading Standards, who said there had been a history of illegal sales at the shop.

In 2022, there were two test purchases at the store, during which counterfeit tobacco was sold. The business was given written warnings.

The meeting was told that earlier this year there were a further two test purchases.

In the first, on February 20, a packet of 20 Richmond cigarettes was purchased for £4. The retail price is £12.

The counterfeit cigarettes were brought into the store by a “runner” who fetched them from an outside area.

A similar test purchase was carried out two days later.

This time the runner was intercepted by police. He had in his possession several packets of illegal cigarettes, plus a set of keys which gave access to a small outbuilding at the rear of the buildings opposite the store.

Images of the building were shown to the panel, and show locked iron gates over the entrance.

In the outbuilding was what Trading Standards described as a “substantial quantity of counterfeit/ illicit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco.”

The total amount seized from the storage point was 612 20 packets of cigarettes and 45 50g pouches of hand rolling tobacco. The retail price for these items is around £11,000.

A report to the panel detailed how the illegal sales worked.

When a test purchaser went into the store, they asked for a pack of Richmond, and placed £4 on the counter – much less than a legal pack of Richmond would cost. The woman working behind the store then rang someone on her mobile phone.

Shortly after the call ended, a man entered the shop holding a number of packets of cigarettes.

When this man left the shop he was intercepted by police, and revealed the building containing the contraband.

A report to the panel said there have been further reports of illegal sales made to Trading Standards since these test purchases.

David Mullins, of Trading Standards, said: “In the outbuilding we found an iPad linked to the store in question’s CCTV, so anyone in there could monitor the activity in the shop.

“There were no illegal items in the shop itself.

“The business seems to continue to sell illegal tobacco. This impacts on legitimate stores and undermines their business, causes legal businesses to close and the local economy to suffer.”

A written statement was read out on behalf of Mr Mohamed, who struggles to speak since recently undergoing a tracheostomy.

It said he had come to the UK from Iraq in 2007, and “worked hard and earned an honest living.”

He said he had since sold the business, as his medical condition prevented him from effectively managing the premises.

Members were told the licence would be transferred to a new licensee shortly, but he was the current licensee for the shop.

Since his throat issues he had investigated the dangers of smoking, and the statement said: “I have smoked in the past, and I believe the condition may be down to that.”

He said his business supported the local community and that he was “disappointed” that these illegal sales were going on “behind his back.”

Members voted to revoke the licence.