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A closure order against a Moreton convenience store has been extended for another three months. The owner of the store had hidden illegal tobacco kept in a ceiling compartment, according to the Wirral View.
The store in question, Moreton Convenience Store on Upton Road, will now remain closed to the public until at least 1 October 2026. Magistrates agreed with Wirral Trading Standards that the business posed an ongoing risk of public nuisance and criminality.
The decision was made following evidence presented of illegal activities recorded within the store going back several years. Also taken into consideration was that the shop's landlords hadn't taken any steps to remove the person keeping the products, Zana Mohammed Khalla, or to take back the property.
Neither Mr Khalla nor the landlords, Anthony Criss and Haywood Milton, contested the extension application. The court ordered the landlords to pay costs of £1,287.
The original three-month closure was imposed from 1 April following an investigation carried out by Wirral Trading Standards and Merseyside Police. They had records of offending from the store dating back to 2021.
A month before the closure order, an inspection was carried out, and officers discovered a remote-controlled storage space hidden within a large light fitting in the shop's storeroom. Inside was a mountain of illegal cigarettes - 4,500 to be exact - and 2.3 kilograms of hand-rolling tobacco.
Councillor Jenny Johnson, Chair of Wirral Council's Tourism, Communities, Culture and Leisure Committee, said: "As part of the application for an extension to the closure order, it is significant that the courts agreed that the owners of the premises have a responsibility to ensure that if their tenants are found to be conducting illegal activities at their property, they have a responsibility to take action too. They cannot turn a blind eye to this."
Landlords can also be liable for money laundering if they knowingly allow tenants to trade illegal products like tobacco and accept rental payments that derive from those sales.
This is the fourth extension of a closure order obtained by Wirral Trading Standards, in addition to 19 closure orders granted in recent months.
Anyone with information about illegal activity can report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
