Weymouth shop's licence to be reviewed after illegal tobacco found
Dorset Police say they 'no longer have confidence' in the Polish shop on King Street
A Weymouth shop is to have its licence reviewed, after illegal tobacco and vapes were found there by Dorset Police.
The Polish shop on King Street will be discussed at a Dorset Council meeting next week (4th May).
Police have said they 'no longer have confidence' in the business.
They found almost 350 packs of smuggled cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco during a visit in November 2021.
Similar quantities, and illegal vapes were also found in a further visit in October 2022.
Test purchases in February 2023 led to another visit by the police and trading standards officers when 12,500 packs of cigarettes were seized along with 100kg of hand rolling tobacco and over 1,000 illegal vapes, as well as 19 boxes of nitrous oxide cannisters, commonly known as ‘laughing gas.’
Police say it is believed to be one of the biggest seizures Dorset Council Trading Standards has ever made of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco.
Councillors will decide whether to allow the business to keep its licence, or to revoke it.
The premises licence is currently suspended, preventing the sale of alcohol, due to the non-payment of the annual fee and a lack of a designated supervisor.
In a statement to councillors, Dorset Police have said:
“There can be no excuse for licensees promoting crime within their premises. When considering the relevance of the review and the potential sanctions, if any, that the Sub-Committee may choose, it should be emphasised that Dorset Police and other partner agencies are working tirelessly to tackle this type of criminality that is becoming a national concern.
"It is the view of Dorset Police that this type of activity should not be condoned and further similar operations are planned for the future throughout Dorset to tackle this criminality.”