Dewsbury shop found selling alcohol to children and hiding illegal cigarettes in sofa loses licence

Following a series of failed test purchases and an inspection that resulted in over 1,000 illegal items being seized, Buccovina on Huddersfield Road in Ravensthorpe has had its licence revoked.

Police had referred the licence to Kirklees Council for a review after carrying out test purchases in August and September which saw children able to buy alcohol without being asked for proof of their age on either occasion.

The first instance saw two teenagers able to purchase cans of San Miguel and Fosters and the second saw a 16-year-old police cadet in civilian clothing buy a can of AU Vodka Pineapple Crush.

At a meeting to review the licence, police said that licence holder had denied having any involvement with the business. He was reportedly contacted multiple times by the council to provide representation at the meeting but failed to attend.

Trading standards officers carried out test purchases in January and August 2023 and purchased a pack of illegal Richmond cigarettes for £4 each time – well below the market value.

Jason Bethell, an illicit tobacco officer from trading standards, told the meeting he believed the cigarettes to be counterfeit due to “discrepancies” in the packaging and the fact that no legal pack of cigarettes can be purchased in the UK for under £8.

He said a search of the store in October resulted in “a large amount of illegal goods” being recovered.

Nearly 1,000 packets of illegal cigarettes, 397 illegal vapes, and 140 pouches of rolling tobacco were seized.

"The cigarettes were stacked up behind the counter ready to be served,” he said. “They were a mix of counterfeit, as I described, and smuggled ones which were identified by the excise stamps of other countries.”

Describing where the cigarettes were found, he said: “Stacked up behind the counter, in bags in the rear store room and a concealment had been made where you pulled off the top of a sofa and all the base was lined up with cigarettes."

Officers also confiscated 47 bottles of spirits on suspicion that they were stolen.