A license to sell alcohol has been surrendered by the owner of the Eastern European Mini Market on Pasture Road in Goole. This was after Humberside Police submitted a review application following a significant amount of counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco were recovered as part of a joint operation with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Kubus Mini Market no longer has a license to sell alcohol following the seizure of a number of counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco on two separate occasions.
Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Mark Lovell said, “Selling counterfeit goods is not a victimless crime. Cheap counterfeit cigarettes and alcohol bought at pocket money prices are alluring to vulnerable adults and even children. It also causes and contributes to drink related crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. There are health issues as unregulated fake products have been found to contain high levels of contaminants. They also pose a real fire risk as counterfeit products don’t always ‘burn out’.
“Since 2017 we have had ongoing issues with anti-social behaviour in and around the Pasture Road area of Goole. We began looking at the root causes of the anti-social behaviour (ASB) and found that licensed premises in particular seemed to be one of the main issues.
“Working closely with the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the local authority we wanted to not just deal with the problems residents were telling us about but make sure we could have a lasting effect of removing the causes of ASB in the locality. This can take time but in the long run has the desired lasting effects.
“It is important for us to make sure we can support and reassure our local residents that when they have problems such as anti-social behaviour we can act to find out what the problems are and look to find a solution that will reduce the nuisance caused by people hanging around in the street and drinking.
“We are fortunate not to have the street drinking culture in Goole of some local cities but I want to continue to hear from residents about any issues they have of ASB or street drinking near their homes.
“No one should tolerate ASB and our local neighbourhood policing team continue to regularly patrol the area and are happy to be stopped to talk about any issues people have.”
