A shop in Keighley had its alcohol license revoked after authorities discovered an elaborate system using hidden chutes to sell counterfeit cigarettes. An undercover trading standards officer made a test purchase for illegal tobacco at the Keighley shop on December 4. A subsequent raid by West Yorkshire Police and Trading Standards in December uncovered hundreds of packets of counterfeit cigarettes and illegal vapes. During that raid, Trading Standards and police found single-use vapes and illegal oversized vapes on display, a hidden chute with illegal cigarettes, a makeshift CCTV system, and a hollowed-out window sill storing more illegal cigarettes. In total, 603 packets of cigarettes, 125 pouches of 50g hand rolling tobacco, 165 illegal oversized vapes, and 242 illegal single-use vapes were confiscated from the premises.
This was not the first time a chute had been discovered at the Keighley premises. In April 2022, the then license holder Ari Rafiq was stripped of his license by the council. The Keighley shop continued to operate with Ari Rafiq still running the store, but with Aso Rafiq Mohammed as the license holder.
Separately, a shop in Bideford, Devon, was shut down for selling illegal tobacco and vapes suspected to contain Spice. Two children reportedly became unwell after using vapes from the Devon shop that reportedly contained Spice. Concerns were first raised about illegal smoking products being sold at Devon Mini Market in Mill Street last October, and they were reportedly being sold to under 18s.
An investigation from Devon and Cornwall Police discovered £3,000 worth of illegal tobacco and vapes in a car linked to the Devon shop. South West Trading Standards carried out a purchase last month and found illegal tobacco was still being sold at the Devon shop. Officers enforced a 48-hour closure notice on the Devon shop on Sunday, March 22, and found more illegal tobacco products in a storeroom. On Tuesday, March 24, Barnstaple Magistrates' Court granted a three-month closure order for Devon Mini Market.
In a broader crackdown, five 'dodgy corner shops' in Bradford have been stripped of alcohol licenses for selling contraband cigarettes and participating in organised criminal activity.
In response to these incidents, Conservative MP Robbie Moore is pushing for expanded powers that would enable authorities to permanently close shops engaged in illegal trading.