A convenience store has had its premises licence revoked. The decision to stop Bodrum, in East Grinstead's London Road, from selling alcohol, was taken by Mid Sussex District Council's liquor licensing panel on Wednesday. It followed the seizure by Trading Standards of 235 packs of Parliament Blue cigarettes and 104 packs of Marlboro Touch, which were not labelled in English and should only have been sold in Turkey.
The meeting heard that, during an unannounced visit to the shop by Trading Standards in January, a bin bag containing the cigarettes was taken from behind the counter and moved to the back of the shop, out of view of the officers. When asked about the cigarettes, licence holder Ibrahim Kahraman told the panel they were for personal use and he had bought them from a lorry driver at a fruit and vegetable market. Trading Standards carried out the visit after receiving complaints that vapes and vaping products were being sold to under-18s.
The cigarettes Trading Standards seized This was not the first time Bodrum – which used to trade as London Road Food and Wine – had fallen foul of the licensing panel. In November 2023, the premises licence was suspended for six weeks after alcohol was sold to a child during a test purchase organised by Trading Standards. That suspension has yet to take effect as the decision was appealed and is yet to be decided by a magistrates court.
Should the revocation also be appealed within 21 days, it will likely not be heard until the .