A Bolton shop has been closed for selling illegal tobacco and vapes.
The council has successfully obtained a Closure Order against Queens Park Convenience Store and Off Licence on Mayor Street for supplying illegal tobacco and non-compliant vapes since July 2023.
The Closure Order was granted at Wigan Magistrates Court on Thursday 31 October and the business will be closed for three months.
Shop owner Azad Khani was selling counterfeit tobacco, non-compliant vapes and individual cigarettes which is illegal.
Mr Khani was warned on six previous occasions by trading standards officers against the sale of the illegal goods.
On four separate visits to the premises, trading standards seized counterfeit tobacco and vapes.
The goods were found stashed in a drawer behind the shop counter.
Undercover test purchases found single cigarettes were also being sold, as well as illegal tobacco.
On 20 August this year, Bolton Council revoked Mr Khani’s license to sell alcohol in response to the sale of the illegal goods.
However, this did not deter Mr Khani, who continued to sell illegal tobacco and vapes.
A further visit on 11 September uncovered illegal tobacco and vapes in a plastic bag hidden in a fridge.
Illegal, or non-compliant tobacco and vapes are products that do not fulfil the legal requirements.
For example, vapes that exceed the maximum tank capacity, do not fulfil the labelling requirements or contain illegal ingredients.
This is the fourth Closure Order Bolton Council has carried out in the past six months and an enforcement method which has major impact on shop owners because they lose three months of trading.
Cllr Sue Haworth, Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services, said:
“The ways these illegal goods were often cleverly hidden demonstrates the devious tactics shop owners will go to in trying to supply illegal tobacco and vapes to the Bolton public.
“Closure Orders are a last resort for the council, but we will not tolerate blatant disregard for the law and put people’s health at risk.”