Shop ‘used chute from flat above to sell illicit cigarettes’, council claims

A chute was being used by a shop in Cheetham Hill to sell illicit tobacco from a flat above, trading standards officers from Manchester council have claimed.

More than 17,000 cigarettes and 2.75kg of hand-rolling tobacco were found alongside an audio device in the flat above Euro Market in Cheetham Hill Road.

Trading standards officers believe that staff would sit in the flat and listen to orders, before passing the products down to the premises through the chute.

Designated premises supervisor Hassan Darvishi denied he had access to the flat, despite documents relating to him as the shop owner being found inside.

A further 80 counterfeit cigarettes and 103 fake football club face masks were also found on Mr Darvishi when the store was searched in August.

The new owners of the shop say this man is no longer linked to the business – but illicit tobacco was found on a staff member during another visit last week.

Barham Bakir Mohammed, who is set to take over the store, said the three packets of foreign cigarettes found during the latest visit belonged to him.

He said: “I don’t sell illegal cigarettes. I had three packets in my pocket which a friend of mine bought for me.”

But trading standards officers questioned his claims at a licensing hearing on Monday 6 December, just days after the most recent visit.

Devon Bennett said Mr Mohammed began to shout towards the back of the shop – the same area where the chute was identified – when officers arrived.

‘Banging footsteps’ were then heard from the flat above, Mr Bennett said.

He told the licensing hearing panel that despite the change in ownership, not enough effort was being made to comply with licensing conditions or the law.

‘Under the microscope’

Speaking on behalf of the premises, Victoria Cartmell from Forrest Solicitors said that Mr Mohammed worked at the shop until 2018 before he bought it.

She told the panel she would train all of the staff after the hearing and asked councillors to give the shop, which is ‘under a microscope’, to put things right.

But Mr Bennett said it is not only this shop which is being watched closely. He said: “Areas across Manchester are under the microscope at the moment.

“The issues that we’re facing as a city are exacerbated by the problems that we’re facing at this premises by undermining those licensing objectives.”

Councillors on the licensing sub-committee hearing panel decided to revoke the licence saying they have ‘limited confidence’ in the current management.