News / Licensing
Shopkeeper who sold illegal vapes and cigarettes refused alcohol licence
A South Bristol shopkeeper has been refused the right to sell alcohol after police seized thousands of illegal vapes and cigarettes, along with nitrous oxide canisters, in multiple raids at his previous store.
Aryan Jamal stocked his latest shop, Sky Supermarket in North Street, Bedminster, with booze despite not having a premises licence to do so.
His other outlet, Bon Bon News in Ashton Road, next to Greville Smyth Park in Ashton Gate, had its licence revoked in December 2023 at the request of the police.
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He applied for an off-licence at Sky Supermarket but Bristol City Council’s licensing sub-committee agreed with Avon & Somerset Constabulary that it should be rejected as they had “no confidence” he would comply with the rules.
Two shops in the Bedminster area are owned by Jamal
Police licensing officer Louise Mowbray told the hearing at City Hall on Thursday, April 3, that a colleague patrolling Bristol City home football games spotted Bon Bon News selling alcohol to underage children on match days in January 2023.
She stated: “The officer said this contributed to crime and disorder and public safety issues on match days in the park.”
Mowbray visited the shop three months later and found illicit tobacco, cigarettes and nitrous oxide canisters behind the counter, as well as more illegal tobacco concealed behind cupboards and doors in the storeroom.
She said 748 packets of cigarettes and more than 2,000 non-compliant vapes were seized.
Mowbray said: “I went back on August 10 and found the majority of the licence conditions had been breached.”
These included alcohol of more than 6.5 per cent strength for sale, which was against the premises’ licence conditions, as well as more bootleg vapes, she said.
Mowbray said: “In September 2023 I went with the police and trading standards and more non-compliant vapes and non-duty-paid cigarettes were seized from the shop.
“The same day we attended Sky Supermarket. He had a wall of alcohol but there was no licence in place for the shop to sell alcohol.
“He admitted this, and we removed 565 bottles of wine and 86 miniature bottles. HMRC took away over 600 illegal vapes.
“He was interviewed at the police station and admitted the offence of selling without a licence and stated that he thought the licence automatically transferred from one shop to another, from Bon Bon News to Sky Supermarket, and was told that it didn’t, which was a concern.
“He was given a conditional caution. In December 2023 I initiated a review of the licence of Bon Bon News.
“The licence was revoked at the committee which was unimpressed with Jamal’s explanations.”
She said he applied for a premises licence for Sky Supermarket in January this year but it lacked information and was contradictory.
The UK government plans to ban the sale of disposable vapes, including those containing nicotine, from June 1, 2025
Mowbray added: “The police have no confidence that Mr Jamal would adhere to the licence conditions. He has failed to adhere to them at his previous premises.
“Each time I attended Bon Bon News there were issues, illegal vapes, illicit tobacco. There has been poor management of Sky Supermarket and Bon Bon News.”
She said the shopkeeper, who has held a personal licence since 2021, should know his responsibilities but that he claimed that the council had not told him he should not sell alcohol without a licence, which was not the authority’s job.
Mowbray said: “Jamal saying ‘I didn’t know’ isn’t an excuse. We have a track record of non-compliance with the licence, illicit tobacco, illicit vapes, and the last premises were subject to a licence review.
“I have no confidence that Jamal understands his responsibility or the licensing objectives. This application should be refused.”
Jamal told the Bristol City Council meeting that he had been unaware he could not sell booze in the shop but accepted it was his fault. He said he bought the vapes from a cash-and-carry but did not realise they were illegal.
Jamal said he assumed that because the vapes were freely available on the shelves that they were legal, but that he now researched each vape he had for sale to make sure it was.
Announcing the decision to refuse the licence, sub-committee chairman councillor Guy Poultney (Green, Cotham) said: “We don’t have confidence you will uphold the licensing objectives.”
All photos: Karen Johnson
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