A shop could lose its licence after it was fined £40,000 for employing an illegal worker.
Sandwell Council will decide the fate of Lifestyle Express listed as Harcreete Supermarket in Halesowen Road, Old Hill, after a list of illegal items including oversized vapes and fake non-duty paid alcohol and rolling tobacco were found during two stings earlier this year.
A separate inspection by immigrant officers from the Home Office also found one illegal worker at the shop.
The borough’s trading standards officers found 75 oversized vapes, counterfeit rolling tobacco and cigarettes, and packs of cigarettes with the incorrect packaging and labelling, as well as fake vodka with unpaid VAT during an inspection in February.
Trading standards officers also seized five bottles of counterfeit prosecco with fake authenticity labels.
The shop was inspected again in March and another 12 oversized vapes were seized by officers alongside a case of Jagermeister with fake VAT labels.
The shop’s licence holder Jagjeet Singh Kapoor will face Sandwell Council’s licensing committee at a meeting in Oldbury on September 22.
A report, which will be discussed by the licensing committee, also includes a response from the Home Office which said immigration officers had found one person who had no right to work within the UK during an inspection of its own.
IJH Superstores, of which Jagjeet Singh Kapoor is the director, was fined £40,000 for employing the illegal worker.
West Midlands Police called for the licence to be revoked saying it was “deeply concerning” that illicit items had been found at the shop on two occasions.
“West Midlands Police are of the view that the premises has undermined the crime and disorder objective and public safety objective contained within the Licensing Act 2003,” the force said in a response to Sandwell Council.
“Given the number of items found on site on two separate occasions, it is the view of West Midlands Police that the licence should be revoked.”
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