A shopkeeper caught with almost 22,000 smuggled cigarettes and other illicit tobacco has been banned from selling alcohol at his new off licence in Irlam.
Five seizures of illegal tobacco have been made in three premises in which Mohammed Sahman held positions of responsibility since November 2017.
Trading standards also found alcohol on the shelves of ABC Extra on Liverpool Road when they inspected the new shop which had not yet been licensed.
Councillors on Salford’s licensing panel asked Sahman at a hearing on 16 March 16 for guarantees that he will not sell illicit tobacco again.
Speaking on his behalf at the hearing, his partner Denise Duffy, a nurse at Wythenshawe Hospital, said she would end the relationship if he continues.
She said: “I can give you my guarantee, on my heart, he will not sell these cigarettes. I will not allow him as his girlfriend to sell them. We’ve got a child together and I’ve told him he cannot sell them – he cannot continue this.”
The NHS worker said she has ‘educated’ Sahman on the effects illicit cigarettes have on health and the social impact on the wider community.
She claimed she was not aware that illicit cigarettes had been sold from the premises her partner was responsible for until he came to her asking for help.
The shopkeeper had previously stated that he was selling illicit tobacco to pay his bills at the business – but he told the licensing panel that he is now financially stable, having recently received inheritance from his grandmother.
Miss Duffy, who is supporting her partner’s business, benefiting from financial stability as registered nurse, said she will now take on more of a role in the shop, doing checks on a daily basis to make sure illicit tobacco is not sold.
She said: “I’m very, very against it. And I think it’s wrong what he’s been doing. So I will end this relationship if he continues to do this.
“He doesn’t want to lose this relationship. He doesn’t want to lose his family.
“I don’t know how you want me to guarantee it, but I will be taking more of a direct role in the three businesses. I will still be going in and checking.
“I will be speaking to staff. I’ll be giving the staff the same talk about how bad the cigarettes are and how they affect people’s health and wellbeing.”
Trading standards officer Tim Cook told the licensing panel that the council has received 12 complaints and intelligence reports about the sale of illegal tobacco through the premises Sahman has been in controlling positions of.
Inspections have already been undertaken at ABC Extra following intelligence that illegal tobacco had been sold at this premises, but nothing was found.
Cook said there are ongoing criminal investigations into two premises.
But Sahman promised the panel that this ‘mistake’ would not happen again.
He said: “Just give me one last chance. I’ve got family. I don’t want to lose anything. Honestly. I’ve done a mistake in the past and this is the end of it.”
The licensing panel refused the application on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder, publishing its decision online following the meeting.
To use this website you must be aged 18 years or over. Please verify your age before entering the site.
