A shop accused of threatening customers and selling unsafe e-cigs has had its licence stripped.
The Ormskirk Superstore on Aughton Street will no longer be allowed to sell the likes of alcohol and cigarettes after a catalogue of failures saw it accused of selling drinks and e-cigs to people underage. Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards team led calls for the store to be stripped of its licence less than a year after it was ordered to follow stricter rules following previous breaches.
Among the many issues raised were an incident in which part-owner Star Baiz was seen lighting a cigarette in the mouth of an underage shopper from inside the store. Those warnings were not heeded and a long list of licence breaches were outlined at a licensing review hearing in Ormskirk yesterday (January 30) Lancs Live reports.
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Police and trading standards officers visited the shop, on Aughton Street, multiple times over the past year. On five occasions, illicit cigarettes, tobacco and e-cigarettes were seized. Meanwhile in a separate operation, the licenced premises holder Farhad Salehi was stopped by Merseyside Police officers and a search of his car found illicit cigarettes and tobacco and £10,000 cash. More goods were seized from his Southport home.
Despite this, Mr Salehi continued to blame his staff for bringing the counterfeit goods into the store and selling them at times when he wasn't present. He told the sub-committee hearing that he had sacked all the staff members, just as he had told them 10 months earlier when he faced the previous review.
On one occasion, police visited the store and staff member Raimonda Geruliene was seen repeatedly disappearing into the back of the store. A review of the CCTV footage showed her and Mr Baiz moving boxes into a vehicle and a black bag being placed outside. That black bag was found to contain counterfeit goods.
In September, a customer complained to Trading Standards over an "Elux Legend" e-cigarette that had been bought from Ormskirk Superstore on August 15 but subsequently exploded. Angela Lomax said she was threatened by three men when she raised the complaint
A separate allegation had been lodged with Lancashire Constabulary by a man who said his 17-year-old autistic son had been dragged into the back of the store and accused of shoplifting months earlier. The man said his son was punched in the face while held there. According to PC Ste Connolly, licensing officer for Lancashire Constabulary, the incident was recorded as ABH but dropped at the complainant's request.
Mr Salehi denied that there had ever been any violence inside the store and instead accused the police and council of failing to act over his complaints of drug dealing involving a large group of teenagers who congregate nearby. He told them that whatever the outcome, he planned to sell the store and move abroad.
Each time officers visited, new issues were uncovered including problems with the CCTV system, a "large metal kebab skewer" being found behind the counter, and staff not being trained as required under the licence conditions. Mr Salehi insisted he had done all he could but only five days earlier, and three weeks after the hearing was first due to take place, a trading standards officer was offered and able to buy cheap, counterfeit cigarettes at the shop.
Mr Salehi said: "I did my best. I don't know what else you want me to do. I dedicated all my life for this shop."
Concluding his submission, PC Connolly said revoking the licence was "not only proportionate but essential" to ensure public safety. Cllr Gareth Dowling also called for the revocation having previously called for strong action at the last review. He had previously said he hoped the shop would stay open without the alcohol or cigarette licence and was disappointed at the lack of action taken.
This time, he said: "I must ask the sub-committee to take the strongest possible action available to them to protect the people of West Lancashire, whom we are elected to serve. We have a duty of care to our residents and particularly children.
"If that strongest possible action means closure of the business, or action such as revocation of the licence which impacts on the viability of the business then so be it. The health and protection of the people of West Lancashire must outweigh the loss of this shop from the high street."
Mr Lomax said that while the issues raised were done so on the basis of prevention of crime and protection of children from harm, removing the licence would be in the interest of the wider community. She said: "Parents want to protect their children from accessing cheap tobacco; shop keepers who just want a level playing field and the rest of us who lost out when tax goes unpaid. It is clear that Ormskirk Superstore and Mr Salehi have failed on all counts."
After private deliberation, the sub-committee said it had decided to revoke the licence entirely.
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