A Northolt off-licence has had its licence suspended after an employee was caught selling booze to a “clearly underage” teenager. The shop will not be able to sell alcohol, tobacco, or vapes, for six weeks.
An employee of the off-licence, Discount Food & Wine, sold a can of Budweiser to a 14-year-old boy without asking him how old he was, or for any ID. When licensing officers informed the employee that he sold alcohol to a child he told them: “I thought it was 16.”
The employee told licensing officers he was the son of the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) Mr Weweck Kakker, however he was unable to produce any ID to confirm this. As a result of the breach, the DPS will be removed from his position.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Mr Kakker’s son is currently undergoing relevant training to replace his father as DPS. The committee also heard of “positive interactions” between his son and licensing authorities.
Upon further inspection of the premises, officers found 232 non-compliant vapes, some of which ranged from between 4000-9000 puffs. Officers also found a rucksack which had a “strong smell of cannabis”, a cannabis grinder, and a pack of non-duty paid cigarettes.
This is not the first time Discount Food & Wine has landed itself in hot water with council licensing officers. In November 2020, eight packs of non-duty cigarettes were found on the premises.
The licensing officer, Robert Dear, reiterated that illicit tobacco products are “known to fund organised crime and other illegal activity that causes real harm”. In his statement, he described the incident as an “obvious disregard” for the law.
New conditions include having a personal licence holder on site during the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol, all alcohol to be fully priced, and for Challenge 25 to be adopted, with relevant signage to display that.
During the six weeks in which the shop will not have a licence, all staff are required to be fully trained. They will also be required to take refresher training annually, including on age related products.
The licensing authorities requested a licence suspension of between six weeks and three months. Councillors opted for the minimum timeframe, suspending the licence for six weeks.
When returning the decision, Councillor Ranjit Dheer said: “The sub-committee agreed that he had learned from the licensing breach, was cooperative, and had the best intentions in his mind for the business and the local community.
“The sub-committee considered that the breach of licensing conditions was serious. The sub-committee decided to suspend the licence for the minimum suggested time for six weeks to allow staff to be fully trained.”
Philip is a Local Democracy Reporter covering Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow, with a focus on council decisions, housing, planning, licensing and community stories across west London.
