A CONVENIENCE store in the centre of Evesham has been forced to close after selling illegal cigarettes, vapes and tobacco worth thousands of pounds.
Evesham Mini-market, on High Street, is one of two convenience stores that were handed a three-month closure notice after a crackdown by Worcestershire Regulatory Services on illegal tobacco and vapes.
Pershore Home store, on Broad Street, was also handed the notice. The two convenience stores were repeatedly found to be selling illegal cigarettes, tobacco and vapes with a retail value of more than £16,000.
Both stores had been given a temporary 48-hour closure notice by council officers on Wednesday, July 8.
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But on July 10, the two stores were ordered to close by Worcester Magistrates’ Court under section 80 of the 2014 Anti-social Behaviour, Crime, and Policing Act.
Trading standards said that these closures are necessary to stop persistent criminal activity when other enforcement options have failed.
Cllr Rick Deller, Wychavon’s Executive Board Member for Housing, Regulatory and Customer Services, said: “Securing these further closure orders should provide further reassurance to residents that all partners are committed to working together to drive organised crime out of our town centres.
“It should also send a message to businesses, who can lose as much as £1,000 a week in sales through this sort of illegal activity, that we are behind you and will take action against those who refuse to play by the same rules as everyone else.”
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The three-month closure can be further extended by up to an additional three months if there is a believed risk of continued criminal activity.
Extensive investigation was undertaken
An extensive investigation was undertaken by officers from Worcestershire Trading Standards, with support from the Evesham and Pershore Safer Neighbourhood policing team.
The investigation included multiple visits and test purchases to both stores, resulting in the seizure of £8,683.80 worth of illegal vapes, cigarettes, and tobacco from the Evesham Mini-market.
Picture of what appears to be a dog kennel in the rear store of Pershore Home Store. (Image: Wychavon District Council)
£7,434 worth of illegal tobacco and cigarettes was also seized from Pershore Home Store. The illicit items were stashed in unique hiding places, including an electronically operated ceiling gantry and a hole in the floor concealed by something similar to a dog kennel.
In June, closure orders were issued against two stores in Port Street in Evesham, International Mini Market and Super Mini Market.
These closure orders were secured after raids over two years, resulting in the seizure of more than £269,000 worth of illegal products.
