2 further 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.
Lazen Food Ltd and Hayati Convenience Store Ltd, of 85 and 130b Drake Street, were both issued with closure orders earlier this 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 2 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.
Some of the illicit tobacco discovered by Trading Standards.
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.
The rapid establishment of this business and its operation by the same individuals was seen by officers as a deliberate and coordinated attempt to work around previous enforcement action, with the council bringing its case to Manchester Magistrates Court where a maximum closure order of three months was granted.
The same closure was also imposed on Lazen Food Ltd where, following a number of operations between January and July this year, the council seized more than 30,480 cigarettes and 15.1kg hand rolling tobacco from the retail premises and nearby cars that staff were seen visiting.
On the day officers and Greater Manchester Police visited the shop to notify them of the closure order, even more illicit tobacco products were uncovered on a sofa alongside a shutter fob linked to a neighbouring property.
Upon opening the shutter to 83 Drake Street, more bags of illicit tobacco and illicit shisha were discovered as well as a chute linking the 2 properties together.
Deputy leader of Rochdale Borough Council and cabinet member for climate change and environment, Councillor Trica Ayrton, said:
“This is a fantastic outcome for our Trading Standards team who continue to work hard in removing illegal tobacco off our streets.
“During their covert operations, these shops were selling packs of counterfeit cigarettes for as little as £4, more than £10 less than the usual retail price.
“Despite repeated warnings, these businesses continued to operate above the law and sell harmful products to our residents and we will not tolerate this.”
These latest efforts to tackle illicit tobacco are part of Operation Tetbury, a partnership between Rochdale Borough Council and Greater Manchester Police which is focused on improving the look and feel of Rochdale town centre.
Inspector Meena Yasin who oversee Operation Tetbury in Rochdale:
“This is a fantastic and significant result for our community, and a continuation of our commitment to tackling illicit tobacco.
“This closure order represents our work with Rochdale Borough Council’s Trading Standards team to use enforcement legislation on businesses premises.
“We’d like to thank all those that have shared intelligence and reports with ourselves, and we’d like to reiterate our commitment to keeping areas where our communities live and work, safe.”
Illicit tobacco is a term used for all types of illegal tobacco. It includes counterfeit tobacco, tobacco not made for the UK market and tobacco which has been smuggled into the country without the correct tax being paid on it. Illicit tobacco does not only pose a harmful risk to a person’s health, the sale of it often funds organised crime too which poses an even wider risk to the public.
Report illicit tobacco
Anybody who is aware of illicit tobacco or any other illegal items on sale at a local business, should report it to Trading Standards by:
- Email: trading.standards@rochdale.gov.uk
- Phone: 0808 223 1133