Closure orders have been made against three Thanet businesses following work by Thanet council’s community team in partnership with Kent County Council Trading.
After months of investigations, test purchases and disruption operations, the team sought a Closure Order under Section 80 of the ASB Crime and Disorder Act 2014. Folkestone Magistrates’ Court authorised the Closure Orders on three commercial premises due to the sale of illicit tobacco and all three shops were also directed to pay court costs.
The premises are:
Al Madinah, 106 Northdown Road, Cliftonville
International Mini Market, 200a Northdown Road, Cliftonville
King Street Retail, King Street, Ramsgate.
These properties had previously been closed for selling illicit tobacco and reopened in August 2021 after a 3 month court-ordered Closure Order. Test purchases carried out by Trading Standards showed that they had continued their previous illegal sales.
The Closure Orders prohibit anyone entering the premises and will be in place until Saturday 14 May. Thanet District Council Community Team and KCC Trading standards will continue operations across the district to stop the sale of illicit tobacco.
Cllr George Kup, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Youth Engagement, said: “Along with our partner agencies, we are committed to the fight against cheap and illicit tobacco. These closures should send a strong message to businesses not cooperating with authorities when it comes to making our district a better place to live. Illegal tobacco is not a victimless crime – it harms legitimate businesses and society in general due to tax not being paid, facilitates the supply of tobacco to underage people and supports organised criminal networks.
“I would like to thank all of the partners for their hard work on this operation as well as members of the public for reporting illegal sales. I encourage everyone to continue to do this and help reduce the harm caused by tobacco in our communities.”
To report a trader selling cheap and illicit tobacco contact the Illegal Tobacco Hotline on 0300 999 6 999 or report it anonymously at www.stop-illegal-tobacco.co.uk
You can report any anti-social behaviour, including the sale of illicit tobacco, to the council’s Community Team on community.safety@thanet.gov.uk
The benefits of multiculturalism.
Crime. And then after being caught two fingers up to the UK that took them in and more crime.
Yes, because white people don’t sell knock off fags down the pub or smuggle ‘legit’ ones in & flog them avoiding tax. Most of them were likely born here anyway.
Idiots of the first order that shop is their living and they resort to helping other idiots who smoke and drink stuff that they don’t know what substances are in them.
Yes, heaven forbid they buy cheap knock off fags, instead of the legitimate premium ones, with thousands of poisons in them that destroy health & kill- It is estimated a billion people will die from smoking between the years 2000-2099, or around an eight of the current population of the planet. These raids are nothing more than the genocidal dearth merchants protecting their profits.
So… they can close for another 3 months and then carry on again as (ab)normal?
Yes Peter, I am sure the one in King St was raided not that long back! Probably four months!!!
i dont think anybody could care less about the health implications all the government is bothered about is the lost revenue , which in turn fuels more immigration and corner shops.
1. It harms legitimate businesses and society in general due to tax not being paid. Don’t the UK authorities already make enough off the sale of tobacco that kills people & puts a colossal strain on the NHS?
2. Facilitates the supply of tobacco to underage people. Yes,I have never encountered under 18’s smoking legitimate fags.
3. And supports organised criminal networks. Really? Have the police found any evidence that local shopkeepers in Thanet are part of a huge criminal network or charged them with such offences? No, clearly they are just selling cheap fags on the side. This really is the most pathetic statement from them.
4. No mention of it being harmful to health, which they have said in the past, but probably wised up to how dumb it looks when the real thing kills at least half of its users & causes years or decades of health problems for the rest-just that the government want their cut, protecting the kiddies & total nonsense about your local Thanet corner shop owner being part of some huge national or international Mafia or terrorist cabal.
👍
What is the point of this?
At least it gives them some time to stock up on more illegal goods.
They should be closed permanently, and the proprietors banned from running any business.
Some years ago I went into local pub at about 10:30 am to tell them that a car was in their car park and it had all its doors all wide open but no one was near it and was they aware. Before I could say anything a man behind the bar shouted out “Toms here” just then a naked woman came out behind the bar and said “ come through Tom” I replied “ Eh I’m not Tom”. I think that pub was selling more than beer.
These 3 month closure orders seem to be useless at stopping the repeated selling of illicit cigarettes and tobacco be these rogue traders. There should be something else that would stop them for good. They are laughing at the authorities and just see it as part of the game.
come on bill dont tell us half a story – give us a clue ?
When you consider that illicit could nean that these so called tobacco products could be made from anything it puts a whole different slant on things. The authorities should close them down for good before they poison people.
Steve. So your telling me these people who have been welcomed into this country should be allowed to carry on breaking the law regardless of what they’re selling? Smoking any poison will inevitably end up with some sort of treatment being needed and this will come at a cost to government via the NHS. These people contribute absolutely nothing to the system,government or society in general and they should be shown the door they used to enter the country only never to be allowed back in.
Whilst we allow oil companies to paying negative tax in the North Sea. Whilst we allow amazon and google pay next to no tax relatively speaking and allow energy companies to make billions I find it hard to salute the man power and energy spent here to make sure people pay tax on some ciggies. Low hanging fruit to boost “crime numbers”
but yeah let’s pretend this is a win for us little people.