Shops selling illegal cigarettes have been forced to close – and more could follow
Lincolnshire Magistrates Court ordered two Boston shops to shut for three months after hearing how they were being used for criminal activity.
The shops – ‘Bucharest’ in West Street, and ‘King Power' mini market in Horncastle Road –were two of five in the town targeted by Lincolnshire Trading Standards and Lincolnshire Police’s licensing team in a crack-down against illegal cigarette and alcohol sales.
King Power is not connected to the Thai duty free business that owns Leicester City.
Trading Standards said tens of thousands of illegal cigarettes and vapes, and thousands of pounds in cash were seized by officers in raids last month.
Officers also said they found employees in the shops with no right to work in the UK who have been referred to Immigration Services.
Trading Standards said: “In all five inspected premises, the owners had taken extensive measures to hide their illegal products from officers, including false walls, false ceilings, false floors, hydraulic lifts, and electrically operated magnetic locks.
“In one case, chilli powder was even used around the products in an attempt to distract detection dogs.
“The King Power shop on Horncastle Road was previously the location of a shocking video which showed illegal cigarettes stashed behind a ceiling light.”
Trading Standards said cigarettes found in the shops during the raids were a mix of counterfeit, unsafe, and non-duty paid.
They also said vapes seized were found to be “far in excess” of the legal nicotine strength and well above the permitted size.
One, they said, had the same nicotine content as 450 standard king size cigarettes.
Principal Trading Standards officer Andy Wright said: “I hope these two closure orders are the first of many.
“Trading Standards and the [police have responded to public concerns of lawlessness, particularly in the West Street area of Boston.
“That lawlessness is in no small part due to the criminal activity found in these shops.
“Make no mistake, these are not shops who trade a few dodgy fags on the side. These shops function for the primary purpose of selling illegal cigarettes and vapes.
“We have been contacted by a number of legitimate businesses in the area who have found that they cannot compete on equal terms.
“It is unfortunate that in some cases they have been put out of business. We do what we can to provide a level playing field for legitimate business.
“We applied for closure orders for the maximum permitted term – three months.
“Both hearings were contested by those running the business, but the court found there had been an extensive history of criminal behaviour and that behaviour was likely to continue.
“The court had little hesitation in applying closure for the maximum term available to it.
“We hope to work with shop landlords during the closure period to ensure tenants do not continue to commit criminal offences when the shops are allowed to re-open.”
Sgt Ian Cotton, from Lincolnshire Police, said: “These cigarettes are often unsafe.
“The laundered profits contribute towards people trafficking and modern slavery.
“Good, honest people have been forced to close their business due to this activity and we will continue to work with our partners to combat the issue.”
