Illegal tobacco racket is stubbed out by council

TWO more shops have been shut down for the sale of illicit tobacco, as Rochdale Borough Council and its partners continue to clamp down on this illegal activity.

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Lazen Food Ltd and Hayati Convenience Store Ltd, of 85 and 130b Drake Street, were both issued with closure orders last week after large quantities of cigarettes, hand rolling tobacco and disposable vapes were seized by trading standards.

Hayati Convenience Store Ltd only began operating on 18 June 2025 and was originally registered at the same address as Polski Sklep, a shop shut down by the council for similar offences only two weeks prior.

While the shop's address was changed a few days later to 130b Drake Street, evidence gathered by trading standards highlighted the shop was employing the same workers as the ones from Polski Sklep.

On a number of occasions, the workers were witnessed by officers accessing nearby vehicles packed with substantial amounts of illicit tobacco products.

These were later seized alongside a number of single-use vapes on sale in the shop which are now banned nationally.