A RADFORD store could lose its alcohol licence after more than 70 packs of counterfeit cigarettes were discovered.
A sniffer dog was sent into the Ezee shop in Ilkeston Road on August 9 by police and Nottingham City Trading Standards Service after reports that the cigarettes were being sold.
The dog found almost 100 packs of cigarettes and rolling tobacco hidden behind a metal shelving unit under the till, none of which had the correct written warnings on them, as required by the law. Sixty-six of the packs were counterfeit.
When the cigarettes were discovered, the owner of the shop, Anwar Abbas, was on holiday.
However, when the man working in the shop was questioned about the cigarettes, he said: "We are selling it."
Mr Abbas returned to the UK in September. He said he had been out of the country since March and had left another man in charge of the store, although he had only met him a couple of times.
A report written by Jane Bailey, of Trading Standards, said: "Mr Abbas told Trading Standards during his interview that initially he expected to only be away for one month,
"However he discovered when he arrived abroad that his mother was ill and he extended his trip, eventually returning in September 2012."
He said the counterfeit cigarettes were a "complete surprise" to him and blamed the man looking after the shop.
However, in her report Ms Bailey said: "During the interview Mr Abbas displayed a very relaxed attitude to his responsibilities as a licence holder.
"He did not seem to think it was concerning that he had left someone in charge of his store for a considerable amount of time, who he knew very little about and who had received little training.
"There has been evidence that this store has been supplying smuggled tobacco and cigarettes as part of their business for some time.
"Prior to Mr Abbas's ownership, in November 2010 and March 2011, seizures of illicit and counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes were made from the store. While Mr Abbas was not the owner at this time, he was present at the store at the time of the seizure in March 2011."
Trading Standards are now calling for his alcohol licence to be revoked.
A licence is not needed to sell tobacco, however selling counterfeit cigarettes is serious enough to warrant a review of an alcohol licence.
Councillors on the special licensing panel will discuss the case on January 15.
Mr Abbas was not available for comment.
