Drug and illicit tobacco shop in Wolverhampton loses licence

Wolverhampton Council’s licensing sub-committee imposed the strictest sanction on Super Mahan, in Thornley Street, at a review hearing on Tuesday.

Wolverhampton Trading Standards, which called for the review, said the shop had failed to uphold licensing objectives of preventing crime and disorder and protection of children.

Committee members were told of several incidents which saw conditions of the shop’s licence breached.

Police executed a drugs warrant on July 5 and seized 171 Subutex tablets – a controlled class C opioid, 880 illicit cigarettes and 200g of ‘foreign’ rolling tobacco from the store.

Trading standards carried out an under-age test purchase that day, using a 15-year-old female volunteer.

They said she was able to buy a single can of Black Storm cider, which is 7.5 per cent in strength, and a pack of 20 Minsk cigarettes – which were not in plain packaging, bore only foreign warnings and no UK duty had been paid.

Later that day, officers found two packets of Gold NZ cigarettes in a tin under the counter, the cigarette gantry left open showing all tobacco products on sale and no ‘refusals’ book available to inspect – all breaches of the shop’s licence conditions.

Further test purchases were carried out on September 3 and and 27, with an 18 year old, and on both occasions a single bottle of super-strength Sragon Stout was sold contrary to conditions. Despite operating a ‘Challenge 25’ policy, the purchaser was only asked for ID on the second occasion.

On the evening of Setember 27, police and trading standards visited Super Mahan with a tobacco detection dog. Four packets of 20 Gold NZ and three packets of Bahman cigarettes – known as “cheap foreign whites” – were discovered in the stairwell behind the shop area.

Dianne Slack, tobacco control officer for trading standards, said she had previously visited the shop over alleged breaches of conditions and issued warnings in 2016 and 2017.

She said: “We are of the opinion there has been repeated behaviour, increased complaints against the shop and also the shop has been given a chance to improve by having robust conditions and advice given but still problems exist.

“The sale of illicit tobacco contributes to the shadow economy, undermines the city’s public health activities to deter residents from smoking especially young people.”

The review was also backed by West Midlands Police, licensing authority and Wolverhampton Public Health, who said they were concerned about the amount of Subutex discovered on the premises.

Barrister Duncan Craig, who represented the shop’s premises licence holder Mohammed Mahani, said police investigations into the seized drugs and cigarettes on July 5 were ongoing and added they could result in no action.

He said the hand-rolling tobacco was in fact shisha and the Bahman cigarettes seized in September were for personal use.

Mr Craig also said the shop worker did not serve the 15-year-old volunteer but had instead sold the goods to the adult accompanying her.

But he added that Mr Mahani acknowledged that he wasn’t aware of the condition prohibiting sales of single cans or bottles of alcohol.

Mr Craig said: “He has been the premises licence holder for six years. There have been no previous reviews of the licence during that time."