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A Tranmere convenience store has been forced to close for three months after trading standards officers discovered nearly 10,000 illegal cigarettes and unlicensed alcohol on the premises.
Tranmere Convenience Store on Borough Road was shut down under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The closure order was secured by Wirral Trading Standards and the council's legal services team, working with Merseyside Police.
As reported by the Wirral View, a search warrant linked to an address at the store resulted in 9,440 illegal cigarettes and 2.95kg of hand-rolling tobacco being seized.
Officers also found four bottles of alcohol at the store when serving the closure notice, even though the store doesn't have a alcohol licence.
Other items discovered include an illegal packet of cigarettes, along with pre-packed food products without the required UK labelling. The business was not displaying the required A3 tobacco age restriction notice or business name notice.
The illicit products seized had an estimated street value of £3,717 and a potential retail value of £10,679.
Wirral Magistrates' Court was satisfied that nuisance and criminality had occurred at the premises in connection with the supply of illegal tobacco products. The court imposed the maximum permitted three-month closure order, stating it was necessary to prevent the identified nuisance and criminality from continuing or recurring.
Trading Standards is now in contact with the landlord to remove the tenant from the business.
The action represents the 26th closure order secured in Wirral since the council first used these legislative powers in December 2025.
Councillor Jenny Johnson, Chair of Wirral Council's Tourism, Communities, Culture and Leisure Committee, said: "I would once again like to commend our Trading Standards team, legal officers and multi-agency partners for taking decisive action to shut down Tranmere Convenience Store – another premises involved in the sale of illegal tobacco products. We will not tolerate these activities in our borough."
