Southall Shop Keeps Licence Despite Police Raid

On March 10, 2026, council officers and the Metropolitan Police raided Sethi Food and Wine, 41 Featherstone Road. Sniffer dogs searched the premises and indicated that there were hidden items in the rear stock room.

This led officers to find 3,420 illicit cigarettes and 1.13kg of Indian tobacco concealed inside a cardboard box and a black bag. The unpaid tax on these illicit products amounted to £1,400.

When questioned over the phone, the owner of the shop, Mr Ganesh Kuma, said “I thought I could sell them,” but provided no answer when asked why the items were hidden away. In the licensing hearing on Wednesday, June 24, Mr Kuma said they were hidden away because they were not for sale.

He told councillors that he bought them from a salesman who came into the store, and that he was under the impression that he could sell them. During the same visit, officers took photographs showing cases of beer being stored directly on the shop floor.

This was a direct violation of their current premises licence, which strictly requires alcohol to be stored on suitable shelving or racking.

The primary ground for the review was that the business failed to promote the ‘prevention of crime and disorder’ licensing objective. This is because the trade of illegal goods undermines legitimate businesses and funds organised crime.

The Licensing Compliance and Enforcement Officer formally recommended that the premises licence be revoked. The officer stated that the owner’s lack of knowledge and disregard for the law gives them “no confidence” that the licensing objectives are being promoted.

However, councillors on the committee did not agree with the judgement, and opted to allow the premises to keep its licence. It was the first time the off-licence has landed in hot water.

The Licensing Sub-Committee was made up of Liberal Democrat, Cllr Jon Ball, and Labour’s Cllr Shaira Karimi and Cllr Anthony Kelly. Returning the decision, Cllr Kelly described the violation as serious.

He added: “However, the panel are satisfied that the premises has no past experience of previous non-compliance and note the premises licence holder has understood concerns raised by the licensing review for the illicit products.”

The panel did add a number of new conditions to the licence such as weekly compliance checks, invoice retentions, stock records and the use of only legitimate suppliers.

Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter

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