Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

It was confirmed that all items were Part I and would be considered in public.

None.

At the commencement of the hearing, the Chairman drew the attendees' attention to the addendum, which included additional photographs and updated comments which were confirmed to supersede the comments within the main report.

Introduction by Licensing Officer:

The Licensing Officer, Jhini Mukherjee, introduced the review and informed the Sub-Committee that this was an application initiated by Trading Standards, seeking a review of the Premises Licence of Guru Kirpa Traders Ltd (trading as Ahuja's Superstore), 1-3 Redmead Road, Hayes, UB3 4AU, on the grounds of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder. A submission in support of the review was received from the Metropolitan Police Service.

Ms Mukherjee made reference to the history of the site, as set out in the report, and highlighted the addendum, which included a revised order of proceedings and officer's recommendation, as well as additional photographs of the seized goods and the site.

Ms Mukherjee detailed visits to the premises on 7 December 2016, 19 May 2017, 1 June 2017 and 21 June 2017.

On 7 December 2016, a multi-agency operation led to the seizure of a large quantity of illicit tobacco and counterfeit DVDs, and a man identified as an illegal immigrant was working behind the counter.

On a further visit on 19 May 2017, a man behind the counter was potentially an illegal immigrant, although he claimed he was not working at the shop.

During a visit to the premises on 1 June 2017 by the Ms Mukherjee, Mr Khurana was not present and the person behind the counter had no knowledge of licensing objectives.

A further visit on 21 June 2017 did not lead to further licensing issues.

The Committee was invited to determine whether to:

·         Modify the conditions of the licence;

·         Exclude a licensable activity from the scope of the licence;

·         Remove the designated premises supervisor (DPS);

·         Suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months; or

·         Revoke the licence.

It was confirmed that the applicant was seeking a full revocation of the Premises Licence and this was supported by the Metropolitan Police Service.

Representation by the Applicant:

Ms Kiran Seyan of Trading Standards addressed the Sub-Committee and set out in her statement, detailing the events of multiple visits to Ahuja's Superstore.

On 7 December 2016, Ms Seyan led a multi-agency operation with sniffer dogs to inspect the premises as it was suspected of selling illicit tobacco. During this visit, it was noted:

·         The DPS, Mr Khurana, was not present. A man, who identified himself as Mohammed Iqbal, was behind the till counter and the Metropolitan Police later identified this man as an illegal immigrant.

·         Each of the agencies present conducted an inspection and concealed tobacco was found at various locations on the premises. Also, boxes of counterfeit Bollywood DVDs were also found.

·         Mr Khurana arrived at the premises later and claimed that a Polish man had sold the tobacco to him. He stated that he had "never done it before".

A second visit to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.