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A shop which sold alcohol to a 14-year-old has been fined almost £15,000.
The child was sold the alcohol by Denni’s News, Swaton Road, during Tower Hamlets Council’s Trading Standards Team’s test purchase operation in August 2022.
At a hearing held at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on 15 June 2023, the shop’s licensee, Dinesh Kanzaria, pled guilty to the offence of selling the alcohol to the child. He was fined £471 for the offence and ordered to pay £1,655 in costs.
Mr Kanzaria is also a director of Dennis Bow Ltd, the company that owns the business. Dennis Bow Ltd was fined £9,305 for the offence and ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge as well as £,1655 in costs.
The shop worker that sold the alcohol had not been formally identified and is understood to no longer be working for the business.
Manesha Sookun, another director of Dennis Bow Ltd, was fined £100 for a separate offence of failing to display a mandatory tobacco age restriction notice in the shop.
Cllr Kabir Hussain, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Emergency, said:
“Alcohol and cigarettes are age-related products for a reason – to protect our young people from developing habits which are dangerous to their health when they are too young.
“It is vital that all our shop owners and workers uphold the law so we can keep our young people safe.
“We will continue to carry out regular test purchases to catch those breaking the law.”
Posted on Thursday 29th June 2023