Shop may lose licence over illegal staff and vapes

Golden Off Licence on Abbeydale Road, Sheffield

A convenience store could lose its licence after it was repeatedly found to be employing illegal workers and selling illicit cigarettes and vapes.

Home Office immigration officers established that some of the staff at Golden Off Licence on Abbeydale Road in Sheffield had no right to work in the UK and were being paid just £5 per hour.

South Yorkshire Police has now applied for its licence to be revoked because underage children were able to purchase alcohol, tobacco and vapes from the business in contravention of a local action plan to tackle the issue.

The licensee, Hendrin Khedr Azar, can submit evidence at the Sheffield City Council licensing sub-committee hearing on 28 January.

Trading Standards officers also found 480 packs of illegal cigarettes and 40 illegal vapes on the premises, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council's children's services department has also challenged Mr Azar's licence after their safeguarding partnership became involved in the case.

The Home Office's report stated that illegal staff were found in the shop in 2023 and 2024 earning well below the minimum wage of £11.44.

The Civil Penalty Compliance Team issued a fine of £45,000 which remained "outstanding".

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