A HYDE convenience store with a long record of selling illegal tobacco and vapes has been forced to close after magistrates agreed it posed an ongoing risk to the community.
UK Store on Clarendon Street was ordered to shut for three months after Tameside Council’s Trading Standards team uncovered what officers described as persistent and systematic illegal trading.
Stockport Magistrates’ Court heard on November 21 that the shop had repeatedly been linked to the sale of illegal cigarettes, hand-rolling tobacco and e-cigarettes, despite previous seizures and warnings.
In the two most recent raids alone, officers recovered 27,840 illegal cigarettes and 4.75kg of illegal hand-rolling tobacco – quantities the council said were consistent with organised and deliberate supply, rather than isolated breaches.
The closure order was granted after evidence from both Trading Standards and Greater Manchester Police indicated that the illicit sales were likely to continue unless the shop was shut down.
Councillor Laura Boyle, Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Environmental Services and Neighbourhoods, said: “The illegal tobacco trade supports crime rings, damages legitimate businesses, undermines public health and facilitates the supply of tobacco to young people.
“We work closely with businesses to support them to meet their public protection duties and ensure they are compliant but where they are found to be flouting the law, we will always take enforcement action.
“Well done to the officers involved in successfully securing this closure order from the court – it will disrupt this illegal activity that was causing real harm to our community.”
The council said the order sends a clear message that persistent illegal trading will not be tolerated, and further enforcement will follow where businesses continue to break the law.