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....in illegal tobacco clampdown
A shop in Trowbridge has been ordered to close following a series of enforcement actions by Wiltshire Council’s Trading Standards officers, investigating ongoing criminal activity at the premises.
7 Days Trowbridge Ltd, located at 6 & 7 Wicker Hill, was served a closure notice under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The order was granted by Salisbury Magistrates’ Court today (19 June) and will remain in place for four weeks. Only named habitual residents and authorised individuals are now permitted to enter the premises. Anyone else found inside is committing a criminal offence and could face up to 51 weeks in prison and/or a fine.
The business, operated by Mohamed Hawker, opened in 2022 and has been the subject of repeated investigations. Since September 2022, Trading Standards officers have seized illegal disposable vapes, counterfeit tobacco products, and large sums of cash from the premises. Despite verbal and written warnings, illegal activity has continued.
In July 2023, an undercover officer purchased counterfeit cigarettes for £5. In October 2023, 1,500 illegal vapes were seized, and in May 2024, another illegal tobacco sale was made to an officer. Reports of illicit sales persisted throughout 2023, 2024, and into 2025.
In April 2025, officers from Wiltshire Police stopped a man pulling a suitcase near the premises. He was found with hundreds of packets of illicit tobacco and over £1,200 in cash. He was also in possession of keys to the shop, where he claimed to be staying. A subsequent search of the premises by the police uncovered more illegal tobacco and more than £6,000 in cash.
Despite enforcement efforts, further reports in May 2025 indicated that illegal tobacco sales were continuing, prompting the closure order.
Anyone with information about the sale of illegal tobacco or vapes is encouraged to report it to Trading Standards at tradingstandards@wiltshire.gov.uk or anonymously online at www.tssw.org.uk/work-areas/report-it/.
This is the eleventh closure order secured by Wiltshire Council in relation to the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes, with previous actions taken in Salisbury, Chippenham, Devizes, Melksham, and Trowbridge.