Suspected stolen bottles of wine in a corner shop in Easton were ‘given as gifts’ to a teetotal shopkeeper, a licensing hearing heard. Avon & Somerset Police found 21 bottles of wine on the shelves, which they say were likely shoplifted from supermarkets, and called for the shop’s licence to sell alcohol to be revoked.
The shopkeeper at Good Food Plus on Chelsea Road told a licensing hearing at Bristol City Council the bottles were given to him as gifts. As Waseem Mohemmad doesn’t drink alcohol for religious reasons, he decided to sell them in the corner shop instead.
But councillors on the licensing hearing said this claim was ‘not compelling or credible’. The shop’s licence has been suspended for a month, after which alcohol sales will again be allowed.
Louise Mowbray, a licensing officer from Avon & Somerset Police, said: “We would suggest that the premises knowingly bought suspected wine, which has incentivised people to return to the store and commit further crime. Shoplifting at the moment has seen a record 20-year high.
“Shops selling suspected stolen wine have a detrimental effect on the community. It’s unusual, I would suggest, to have wine that’s been gifted to you, that you then put on sale in your shop.”
Last December the police visited the shop after receiving reports that teenagers were buying vapes there. Officers confiscated the 21 bottles of wine, which appeared to have had their security tags forcibly removed, with labels from Tesco, Lidl and Sainsbury’s. Since then, the shop has installed new CCTV, trained staff and began recording sale refusals in a book.
Nadeem Aullybocus, a lawyer representing the shop, said: “There’s evidence from members of the public that this shop has helped them through some of the most difficult times. It’s been around since the 1970s. Letters from members of the community show that this shop seems to be a social hub of some sort, it’s helped with food credit and all sorts.
“Mr Mohammad says ‘I’ve been gifted wine, I just don’t drink it so I put it on the shelves to sell it’. They’re very clearly branded. But they’re not a high-value item, it’s not suggested that a lot of money is going to be made by it.
“I can see the strangeness in someone gifting a Muslim person alcohol. But that’s no bar for someone to drink alcohol. Most of the biggest drinkers I know are Muslims. I can see the suggestion, but actually putting evidence to it is the difficulty.”
Instead of revoking the shop’s premises licence, councillors decided to suspend its licence for a month. The decision follows a spate of similar hearings across Bristol, with other shops also suspected by the police of selling shoplifted wine. Police investigations are ongoing.
Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Williams, chair of the hearing, said: “For the defence put forward that the bottles of alcohol were gifted, we don’t find that credible or compelling. On the other hand it’s not proven that they were stolen either. Nonetheless it’s an odd situation, to say the least.
“The police have not presented any evidence of previous transgressions of licence conditions or failures to uphold the council’s licensing objectives. You’ve traded from the store for a long period of time, so that has counted in your favour.”