April 25, 2019 4.31 pm This story is over 59 months old

Lincoln shop banned from selling alcohol

He continued even after being handed a £15k fine
The Rayan Store on Lincoln High Street. Photo: The Lincolnite

A shop on Lincoln High Street has been permanently banned from selling alcohol after a raid by police and immigration officials.

A man who had entered the country illegally was found to be working in The Rayan Store on the High Street during a raid on May 24, 2018.

A fine of £15,000 was issued by the Home Office. However, owner Chulak Mohamed continued to employ the male, who was left on occasions to run the store despite being untrained.

Mohamed had failed to carry out any of the mandatory right-to-work checks when employing him.

The store’s alcohol licence was revoked at a review hearing on April 15 by the City of Lincoln Council’s Alcohol Licensing Sub-Committee.

The committee and the police’s Alcohol Licensing Team agreed that the store was undermining its licensing objectives regarding the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.

Sergeant Kimble Enderby said: “These joint agency operations are all intelligence-led, involving premises where we have received information that people who are illegally in the country are being employed.

“The decision of the licensing committee means that Rayan Store will no longer be able to sell alcohol of any kind. It sends a clear deterrent message to others considering involvement in this illegal activity.

“On a number of occasions the illegal worker – who was totally untrained – was left in sole control of the store. He was collecting stock from the cash and carry and doing the banking.”