Wolverhampton shop owner says he’s ‘unsure what he can sell’ during hearing over illegal vapes, booze and pills

Gurmej Singh, owner of the family-run GSK Liquor Stop in Blakenhall in Wolverhampton was accused of putting ‘profit before people’ after a host of illegal products including untaxed cigarettes, beer and vapes as well as banned medicine were found at his shop.

Despite running the shop for more than 20 years, the council was told Mr Singh was ‘unaware’ what he could and could not sell.

At the hearing on October 17, the City of Wolverhampton Council removed Mr Singh as the licence holder for the Dudley Road store as part of a six-week suspension with his son Gurpreet taking over as the designated licence supervisor.

The authority’s licensing department had called for Mr Singh’s licence to be suspended for at least three months, if not indefinitely.

A search at the family-run GSK Liquor Stop in Blakenhall earlier this year found more than 200 illegal vapes intended for the US, Indian erectile dysfunction tablets as well as illicit chewing tobacco and hundreds of litres of untaxed beer, wine and spirits.

This came after Mr Singh was warned by the council in 2020 over selling untaxed cigars and chewing tobacco.

Asked to explain himself by councillors, Duncan Craig, who was representing Mr Singh, said that despite more than two decades at the helm, the shopowner was ‘unaware’ what could and could not be sold, blaming the council for not providing enough information.

And after being caught twice selling illicit goods, he was now “under no illusions” over what goods were illegal, banned or safe to sell, Mr Craig said.

Mr Craig, who said he was “baffled” by some of the confiscations from the shop, told councillors that Mr Singh was approaching 60 and looking to step back from running the business and would be replaced by his son Gurpreet.

The elder Singh would have “no involvement” if the shop was allowed to keep its licence, his son confirmed at the hearing.

“He knows now that it is absolutely his responsibility, Mr Craig said. “There are no excuses going forward,” he later added. “There is no question that they do understand their responsibilities.”

During a previous inspection, a trading standards officer was twice told the shop “needed to make money somewhere” in a redacted report published by the council ahead of the licensing hearing.

Mr Singh’s son Gurpreet, who would be taking over the business, told the hearing his comments had been ‘misinterpreted’ and were said “in the heat of the moment.”

He said the vapes were bought off the back of a van.

Councillor Zee Russell, chairing the licensing hearing, said she was concerned the shop was putting “money before people” and told the family they needed to do better.

She said: “We’ve got this wonderful thing called the internet and it’s got all the details on there,”

Wolverhampton Trading Standards, HMRC, the Home Office and West Midlands Police searched the Dudley Road shop in July this year confiscating hundreds of vapes and pills, more than 8,000 pints worth of beer, nearly 300 litres of wine, 60 litres of spirits and ten tonnes of chewing tobacco which had no proof of tax.

The search also found banned tablets, labelled as herbal remedy and ‘powerful stimulant’ Multani Kaminividravana Rasa, which contain opioids such as codeine and morphine and other harmful substances and have been linked to addiction cases in Australia and are not regulated in the UK.

It was not the first time that Mr Singh had been caught after a sniffer dog found illegal cigars and chewing tobacco during an inspection of his shop in March 2020.

The tobacco products had no proof of duty, English health warnings or standardised packaging. Mr Singh was given a written warning by the council.

Wolverhampton Trading Standards was informed again in 2022 that seven packets of cigarettes intended for sale outside the UK had been purchased from the shop alongside a number of illicit vapes.

Two complaints were made last year that the shop was selling illegal cigarettes and alcohol as well as high-strength vapes and tobacco to children but an underage volunteer was refused the vape during a later sting, the council said.

The council’s licensing subcommittee was due to meet on September 16 to decide whether to revoke the licence but the hearing was postponed at the request of Mr Singh’s solicitors.

The hearing then took place on October 17 after the council was told Mr Singh was unwell and his solicitors had not been given enough time to prepare for the showdown meeting with the council.