Shop could lose licence over underage sale and illicit items

A shop could lose its licence after it was caught selling alcohol and an illegal vape to a child.

John’s Booze in Jowetts Lane, West Bromwich, will have its licence reviewed by Sandwell Council after searches found hundreds of wrongly labelled cigarettes, illicit erectile dysfunction tablets, banned chewing tobacco and prohibited oversized vapes at the shop.

A child was also sold an oversized vape and a can of rum in an undercover sting.

A search by Sandwell’s trading standards in May found 280 packets of incorrectly labelled cigarettes, seven bags of banned cool lip pouches, nearly 100 sachets of gel sildenafil – the trademark name for Viagra – as well as two samurai swords and two machetes.

The shop’s licence was also not on display and Mr Bagri could not produce CCTV footage when requested. The shop’s layout had also been changed without permission.

Sandwell Council’s licensing committee meets in Oldbury on November 10 to make a decision.

The licensing report said the shop had been the subject a number of complaints whereby the owner was accused of selling single cigarettes and oversized vapes to children.

A parent had also complained to Sandwell Council that her 16-year-old daughter had bought alcohol from the shop using a fake ID on several occasions.

Cllr Kay Millar and Cllr Paul Moore, who represent the Hateley Heath ward, said the row of shops in Jowett’s Lane, near Phoenix Collegiate, one of the West Midlands’ biggest secondary schools, were home to drug-dealing on a “large scale” and John’s Booze had been accused by locals of selling alcohol, vapes and cigarettes to children as well as ‘under the counter’ items such as banned Viagra and chewing tobacco.

The shop is also half a mile from Sandwell Community School – home to students who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of being permanently excluded from school.

In support of the licensing review, the two Labour councillors said: “This business operates a stone’s throw away from a large secondary school across the road.

“It’s extremely accessible to young people in particular.

“As councillors we know that drug dealing is happening all over the ward but it’s prevalent, and in close proximity, to this row of shops.

“Young people are dealing after school and are attracted by and to gang identity.

“It’s also an attractive easy access way for adults to access these products.

“It’s local, available and discrete.”

The shop, which opens from 7am to midnight every day, is run by licence holder Samanpreet Singh Bagri.

Last year, another search of the shop found more than 80 oversized vapes and nearly 800 cool lip pouches.

A single cigarette was also sold to an undercover officer in 2024 which resulted in a further search of the shop.

The inspection found oversized vapes, banned chewing tobacco, prohibited erectile dysfunction tablets as well as open packs of cigarettes.