Bristol shop loses licence for selling suspected stolen wine

A convenience store has been stripped of its premises licence after police seized 41 bottles of wine for sale suspected to have been stolen from high street supermarkets for cash. Bristol city councillors revoked MM International’s right to sell alcohol after hearing Avon & Somerset Constabulary believed store boss Rebin Rafiq Mohammed had bought the goods from thieves.

Mr Mohammed denied the allegations, which are subject to an ongoing criminal investigation. Police licensing officer Louise Mowbray told the licensing sub-committee on Thursday, January 30, that by buying the suspected stolen booze, the shop in Lodge Causeway, Fishponds, was “contributing to these crimes”.

The panel ruled that the evidence was “compelling” and Mr Mohammed’s explanation that he bought the bottles either from supermarkets or from a shop that was closing down in Bedminster, without keeping the receipts, was not credible. Ms Mowbray told the City Hall hearing: “There is a failure of the premises to adhere to the licence they’ve been granted.

“We believe they’ve been complicit in assisting with crime.” She said officers visited the store on November 15 following intelligence that it was selling age-restricted products to children and that 41 bottles of wine on sale with high street supermarket branding were seized, along with two bottles of spirits suspected to have had their security tags forcibly removed.

Ms Mowbray said there were issues with the CCTV and that there was no log of sales that had been refused, no incident book, or a prompt on the till to remind staff to ask for ID, all of which were conditions on the licence that were being breached. “Staff were unaware of the requirements,” she said.

“Officers found nine bottles of wine that were marked Sainsbury’s, two bottles of wine marked Co-op, two marked Tesco, nine marked Aldi, and 19 bottles marked Lidl. Furthermore, bottles of spirits were identified which appeared to have damage to the caps which would possibly indicate that security seals had been removed, so they were seized as well – a bottle of Captain Morgan’s rum and a bottle of Famous Grouse whisky.

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“There appears to be no reasonable justification as to how high street brand supermarket bottles are on the shelves for sale at the premises. No checks of the origins of the wine had been undertaken by the premises licence holder and police feel public safety may be at risk.

“This would suggest that the premises has knowingly bought suspected stolen wine, provided ready cash which would incentivise people to commit further crime and then return to the store to sell these bottles. The premises, by accepting the goods, are contributing to these crimes.”

She said police had received no further reports about the store since the visit, which was “quite telling”. Ms Mowbray said: “The management of the premises has proven to further criminality in the local area with the sheer amount of suspected stolen items in this shop.

“It is unfathomable to me how bottles from high street supermarkets have ended up in that shop without there being collusion with this shop and the people attending this shop to sell the alcohol for cash.” She said some of the wines were premium products, including champagne, that were rarely on offer for a discount.

Ms Mowbray said: “Changes have been implemented at the premises but we still have no confidence that they will operate to the licence granted. It’s all a bit too late, so we are asking for revocation of the licence.”

Solicitor Jeremy Woodcraft, representing the store, told the hearing: “My client did not knowingly sell alcohol or have stolen alcohol in the premises. He purchased a significant amount of alcohol from a shop in Bedminster that was going out of business, so he made a bulk purchase from this shopholder.

“It may have been that some of the alcohol the police uncovered came from that location but he has previously purchased alcohol from supermarkets when they had one of their super-promotions, which can be cost-effective and give him a margin to do that. Steps have been taken to ensure that full compliance with the licence granted is undertaken going forward.”

He said staff had undergone licensing training, the CCTV had been fixed, Challenge 25 posters had been put up, and there was now a book to register sale refusals. The solicitor said Mr Mohammed, who was both the premises licence holder and the designated premises supervisor (DPS), had recognised his limitations in his role as the DPS and had found a replacement.

Mr Woodcraft said a revocation would be disproportionate and must be based on robust evidence, and that there was a viable explanation why the wine was on sale. Announcing the panel’s decision, chairman Cllr Stephen Williams (Lib Dem, Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze) said: “There was compelling evidence presented by police concerning a significant quantity of alleged stolen alcohol being on display in the premises and a number of breaches of conditions that were attached to the licence which we view as serious transgressions.

“We did not find the explanation advanced by the licensee concerning the alleged stolen alcohol to be credible. There was an inability to produce any proof of purchase.

“No checks of provenance of the alcohol had been carried out and it posed a risk to public safety. While we appreciate some steps may have been taken to remedy the problems identified, these should not have been there in the first place.

“We consider that there has been a wholesale failure to uphold the licensing objectives and therefore we consider it appropriate and proportionate for the promotion of the licensing objectives to revoke the licence.”