C-store fined over underage knife sale, illegal tobacco

A convenience shop in Finsbury Park area has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 after it sold a knife to a 14-year-old boy.

According to local reports, Value 4 Money in Stroud Green Road in Finsbury Park sold a knife to a teen in October 2021 as part of a sting operation run by Trading Standards after a tip off.

Last Thursday (10), the shop pleaded guilty at Highbury Magistrates’ Court of selling the knife to the teenager, as well as of selling illegal cigarettes at Value 4 Money and from a second store as well.

More than 600 illegal tobacco products were found when the shops were raided in both October 2022 and March 2023. Homix Enterprise Ltd, the company behind the Value 4 Money brand, were fined £1,000 for selling the knife and £2,000 for the tobacco charge. The magistrate also ordered an £800 victim surcharge and £250 in costs to the council.

The knife sold was a craft knife that cost just £2.49.

Meanwhile, Islington is asking businesses to sign up to their No Knife Shop scheme.

Islington’s community safety chief Councillor John Woolf said: “Everyone in Islington deserves to feel safe, which is why we have zero-tolerance for businesses that sell knives to under-18s.

“We all must do our bit to keep each other safe, like taking our ‘No Knife’ pledge or making use of our eight knife bins. And while most businesses behave responsibly, we will take robust action against those that break the law and put others in danger. It will not be tolerated.”