A COVENTRY store has been ordered to shut for thee months after a Council investigation revealed it was selling illegal tobacco and vaping products.
The Village Express on Wheelwright Lane is the fifth store in the city to be issued with a closure order by the Magistrates Court for breaking the law.
The store has been ordered to close for three months and no-one is allowed to access or remain on the premises.
The Council’s Trading Standards and Legal teams applied to the Court for the order, which was granted on July 17.
The witness statement provided by Public Health supported the application by Trading Standards for the closure.
Counterfeit tobacco contains high levels of tar and nicotine and illegal vapes have excessive amounts of nicotine.
Coun Abdul Salam Khan, deputy leader of the Council, and cabinet member responsible for policing, said: “This is part of an ongoing effort, working with all our partners, to disrupt this illegal trade which harms local communities and affects honest businesses that do operate within the law.”
Lord Michael Bichard the chair of national trading standards said: “The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law.
“Having removed 19million illegal cigarettes and 5,103 kg of hand rolling tobacco in 2023-24, Operation CeCe (a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC) has taken £27.2million pounds worth of illicit tobacco off the market since the operation launched in 2021 and continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade.”
