South Holland residents are being urged to continue to help Lincolnshire Police in their crackdown on the sale of smuggled cigarettes and illegal alcohol.
Last week The Voice reported how Baltic in Winsover Road had been caught for a fourth time selling non-duty paid or fake cigarettes.
A raid by Lincolnshire Police seized 2,340 cigarettes following a test purchase by a member of a pool of Eastern Europeans helping the police crackdown.
This followed Sheep Market shop Nasza Biedronka twice being caught selling illegal cigarettes.
And Sgt Kim Enderby, of the alcohol licensing team, wants members of the public to continue to help police in their quest to stamp out illegal sales.
He said: “Most of our operations have been intelligent-led from the start.
“It shows how much we rely on members of the local community passing us this type of information so we can then do something about it.
“We have so far revoked eight licences in the county this year.
“It sends a clear message that criminal behaviour of any type will not be tolerated.
“I would again encourage members of the public who are aware of activity of this type to tell us where and when it’s taking place.
“We remain committed to the disruption, investigation and prosecution of all criminal behaviour being conducted on our licensed premises.”
Sgt Enderby also wanted to reassure members of the South Holland community that the police would continue their crackdown despite a legal loophole threatening to undermine their efforts.
The loophole allows anyone caught selling illegal cigarettes and alcohol to continue trading as normal during their 21 days right to appeal. If they do appeal, businesses can carry on selling alcohol until their court date which can be more than six months after the decision is made.
He continued: “All we can do is spread the word about what these businesses are doing. It does act as a slight deterrent, but it’s not enough.
“Because of the nature of the system, it’s becoming public impression that we’re doing nothing about these retailers which is false.
“The system clearly needs to have more teeth and I can understand the frustrations of legitimate retailers.
“But, in the long run, the system would need to send out the message that illegal trading will not be tolerated.”
