Police calls to review store’s licence over seizure of 15,000 illegal cigarettes

Humberside Police have called for a review of the licence of the shop in Yorkshire’s Goole, where about 15,000 counterfeit cigarettes were found hidden.

Illegal tobacco was found under the stairs at the Dobre Bo Polskie Shop in Boothferry Road, Goole, on March 23, stated recent reports adding that the onions were used to mask the smell from police sniffer dogs. The haul was eventually discovered through an electromagnetic mechanism.

Humberside Police has now called for the shop’s licence to be reviewed. The application comes ahead of a hearing before East Riding councillors at a future date. The force’s application remains open to public comments until Tuesday, May 3.

Chief Constable Lee Freeman said police trading standards officers and a tobacco control dog found the contraband cigarettes after going into the shop at around 10.15am on Monday, March 23. The officer wrote in the application that there were two male shop assistants behind the counter when the police arrived, one of them licence holder Kamaran Mahmood.

Thousands of cigarettes were found stashed inside what the officer dubbed a sophisticated concealment mechanism, many of them being the 20 Richmond Blue brand.

“The cigarettes are duty evaded, therefore they can be sold at pocket money prices to children, illegal tobacco is not a victimless crime- the unscrupulous dealers who sell it will target children, who are attracted by its low price,” reports quoted Chief Constable Lee Freeman as saying.

“Some of the cigarettes are believed to be counterfeit, therefore there is a greater risk to the public health and fire safety. These harmful products will not be tested or regulated for chemicals and could be even more harmful.”

East Riding councillors will not be able to rule on whether the shop has committed a crime as that is a matter for the courts. Councillors could choose to change the terms of the shop’s licence or revoke it entirely, depending on the hearing.