Extra conditions for Ormskirk shop after complaints; Owner says 'accidents' happened

An Ormskirk shop has had extra conditions added to its licensing agreement after complaints that fake cigarettes were sold there and children were allowed to buy alcohol.

Ormskirk Superstore, on Aughton Street, was given the additional conditions at a special West Lancashire Borough Council meeting held this week to review its licence.

The shop was also accused of selling tobacco and nicotine to under-age children and selling vaping products to under-age youngsters in school uniform, according to council reports.

Other complaints included that the shop displayed cannabis images and paraphernalia in the window; selling cheap illegal tobacco under the counter and selling cheap cigarettes.

Shop owner Farhad Salehi said ‘accidents’ and mistakes had happened while he was away last year. Other staff had been responsible for the breaches, he said. He thanked councillors for not taking away his licences to sell tobacco, alcohol and vaping products, which were options for the sub-committee.

Councillors were told the incidents raised concerns around issues including protecting child from harm, unpaid tax from the illegal sale of cheaper fake cigarettes, unfair competition with other shops selling legitimate tobacco and cigarettes, and the potential wider links between organised crime and counterfeit cigarettes.

However, the council licensing review was not a criminal court hearing.

Ormskirk Superstore’s permission to sell age-restricted goods, such as cigarettes, rolling tobacco and e-cigarettes, was reviewed after public complaints, test visits and investigations by trading standards officers last year, from the summer to the winter. One complaint came from a parent of a teenager who was sold a vaping product from the shop.

This week, councillors on West Lancashire’s Licensing and Gambling Sub-Committee added four new conditions to the shop’s licensing agreement. These are:

• Whenever licensable activities are taking place, at least one member of staff present within the premises must hold a personal licence.
• All staff, including the ‘designated premises supervisor’, must undertake Challenge 25 refresher training at least every six months, and the details of this must be recorded in a training manual and disclosed to any authority on request.
• All people including the designated premises supervisor involved in the sale of licensable products must undertake the Lancashire County Council Check 25 online training while available.
• A notice must be displayed in the shop providing details of all people authorised to sell alcohol including their name, address and up-to-date contact telephone number.

A report to councillors stated a Lancashire County Council trading standards officer believed the information presented against the Aughton Road shop was ‘clear evidence that the prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of children from harm in licensing objectives have been disregarded’.

The report added: “Notwithstanding any further information being provided, the county’s trading standards service respectfully requests that the committee considers whether revocation of the premises licence would be an appropriate finding in the circumstances.”

Lancashire Police were also consulted in the shop’s review. They said they had not received any specific complaints about the Aughton Road shop. However they supported the work of trading standards officers.

Last year, trading standards officers sent 14 and 15-year-old volunteers to buy age-restricted products on two occasions and twice the sales were carried out. The Ormskirk shop and its licence holder, Farhad Salehi, had failed to observe the licensing objective of protecting children from harm, it was said.

Trading standards has received a number of complaints about under-age sales and the supply of illicit tobacco . A packet of counterfeit Mayfair cigarettes was bought by a 15-year-old test buyer on August 9, 2021, and 78 illicit tobacco products were seized by trading standards on the same day.

Despite that enforcement visit, trading standards officers continued to receive complaints. A test purchase of e-cigarettes was attempted on December 22, 2021 and a 14-year-old test purchaser was sold two ‘Geek Bars’ with nicotine.

Products from the shop were tested and confirmed as counterfeit by legitimate tobacco firm representatives. The cigarettes were also not being sold in plain packaging and did not have the required health message.

Under the licensing arrangement, the shop’s owner, Farhad Salehi, is also the designated premises supervisor. Staff working in the shop on different occassions last year were named as Ali Abdullah, Dane Hama and Hama Bakr, a council report stated.

Speaking after this week’s licensing meeting to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Salehi, aged 32, said: “These accidents happened while I was out of the country last year, visiting my elderly mother in Kurdistan. She is unwell and has lost both her legs. When I came back to England and found out what had happened, I sacked all the staff.”

He added: “I will be at the shop all the time now. I know these were serious incidents. I did not know how serious the problems were at the time. There will be no accidents or mistakes whatsoever from now.”

Regarding counterfeit cigarettes, Mr Salehi said: “One of my staff bought them and sold them behind my back. I don’t know where they were from. That was the main reason I sacked the staff.”

Looking ahead, he said: “I will be getting more information from the council about licensing, personal licensing and more training. They will be sending me all the instructions. I’ll keep my eyes on the shop and take full responsibility.”

He added: “I want to thank everyone at the licensing meeting for letting me continue running the shop. I have spent 17 years building the business. I don’t want to risk that. I am really grateful. ”

Previously, Cllr Gareth Dowling, who is West Lancashire Borough Council’s cabinet member for communities and community safety, supported the licensing review and said he had received complaints about the shop. It had been a ‘welcome addition’ to the town centre but now the council had to act, he said in a report to this week’s meeting.