Shop owner allowed to keep licence as long as medicine is not sold

A shop owner has been told that he can keep his licence as long as he doesn’t sell medicines again.

Fantasia on Bourne Road in Spalding came before an online Licensing Panel today (Tuesday) after Lincolnshire Police say they found it to be selling medicine that did not have any English written on it along with items that were past their use by date.

The owner, Hemen Ahmad, had been warned in 2016 about selling foreign medicines, the police stated in their application for the review of the premises licence.

It says on a further visit in January, medicines without English written on them were seized which included drugs that should normally only be available through prescription.

On the same day, Trading Standards removed 18 out of ‘use by’ dated products that were on sale in a fridge.

Senior Trading Standards Officer Rebecca Money said in her statement to the panel that the store’s manager “Mr Ahmed commented that his customers did not care that food may be passed its date”.

However at today’s hearing Mr Ahmed contested that he said that in the shop he’s owned since 2015 and that usually procedures were in place to ensure food was not sold past its sell by date.

He told the committee that from the 2016 visit he did not sell medicines with a foreign language on them, until November 2019 when a salesman persuaded him to sell them.

In a statement he said: “I have made a mistake and have to hold my hands up.”

Mr Ahmed said that “99 per cent” of customers in his shop were Polish but that he’d already decided not to sell any medication again.

Lincolnshire Police had requested the district council’s licencing committee revoke Mr Ahmed’s licence, but the panel ruled it could continue on the condition no medicine is sold and daily checks are made on sell by dates.

The judgement states: “These are premises that have held a licence since January 2015. An issue took place in August 2016 where medicines were seized by the Police and the rules in respect of the labelling of medicines were explained to the Premises Licence Holder.

There were no further problems until January 2020. The Premises Licence Holder indicated that the store did not offer medicines again until November 2019 when he was persuaded by a salesman that the products were lawful.

“No evidence was presented by the police to undermine that account.

“The sale of medicines without English labelling poses public health risks.

“The Premises Licence Holder states that no medicines have been offered for sale since the Police visit in January 2020.

“No concerns have been raised by the authorities in respect of breaches of licensing conditions.

“The role of the Licensing Panel is to promote the licensing objectives not
to punish any crimes that may have taken place.

“There are conditions that could be imposed that would satisfy the Panel that it would be appropriate to promote the Licensing Objectives by the addition of conditions to the premises licence.

“Any breach of those conditions could result in a further review of the licence.

“Had the decision been to revoke the alcohol licence that would not prevent the premises from opening or continuing to trade as a grocery store or even displaying medicines however it would not be authorised to sell alcohol.

“It was felt more appropriate to prevent the sale of medicines as this is of more benefit to public safety and the licensing objectives.”