‘Secret compartment’ shop stripped of licence

An Erdington shop which used a ‘secret compartment’ to hide illicit tobacco and alcohol products has been stripped of its licence.

Maxi Food on Wood End Road went before the council’s licensing committee last week after authorities found the shop to be selling illegal cigarettes and vodka, with 514 packets of cigarettes and 32 bottles of vodka seized from the premises during a visit in October.

Of the goods seized during the visit only some items, such as certain bottles of vodka, were on display to customers, with the majority of the illicit goods stored in a secret compartment behind the counter that was locked using a magnetic switch and hinged panel.

During the meeting last week authorities described how they believed that the operation being run out of the shop was helping to support organised crime syndicates, describing it as ‘a channel to successfully fund and support organised crime gangs.’

And it appears that the committee agreed with these representations, stating in a decision letter: “When deliberating, the sub-committee agreed with the responsible authorities that any trade in illicit products put the licensing objectives at grave risk; as such, the sub-committee took a very dim view of it.

“It was also a drain on the public purse, as both West Midlands Police and the Trading Standards department of the city council had to allocate resources to investigate and deal with a criminal activity which had been undertaken, for profit, by a person who should have been more than aware of the standards expected of all licence holders in Birmingham (especially given the warnings issued earlier in the year).”

The committee also removed Farhad Mohammed Razaye as the designated premises supervisor.

The committee continued: “Both of the responsible authorities had observed that they had no confidence whatsoever in Mr Razaye to uphold the licensing objectives.

“The sub-committee looked at all options when making their decision, and placed particular emphasis on the need to ensure that they had confidence that the management of the shop would not engage in, and encourage, criminal activity.

“The members of the sub-committee gave consideration as to whether they could modify the conditions of the licence, or suspend the licence for a specified period, but were not satisfied, given the evidence submitted, that the licensing objectives would be properly promoted following any such determination, for the reasons set out above.

“The operation had been managed in a way that was not merely irresponsible, but also illegal. The findings had shown a lack of professional supervision and control by Mr Razaye as the licence holder, and he had demonstrated that he was incapable of upholding the licensing objectives.

“After hearing all the evidence, the sub-committee determined that the purchase and sale of illicit and/or counterfeit goods was indeed so serious that it could not be tolerated.

“The sub-committee therefore resolved to revoke the licence and to remove Mr Razaye as designated premises supervisor.”

The licence holder will now have 28 days to appeal the decision.