A former city shop owner who continued to sell alcohol after his premises licence had been revoked by City of Wolverhampton Council has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Mohammed Sokhanvar Mahani originally had his licence revoked in December 2019 following repeated sales of illicit products including alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco.

Following a council prosecution, he was jailed for 24 weeks after admitting 12 charges.

But in June 2023, officers from the council’s Licensing and Trading Standards teams returned to his shop with police and found alcohol, oversized vapes and illicit tobacco products.

In September 2023, a further seizure consisted of 155 bottles of alcohol including vodka, whiskey, rum, brandy and alcopops.

Mahani, who had continued trading despite his revoked licence, was again prosecuted by the council and pleaded guilty to three charges contrary to the Licensing Act 2003.

These included two charges of exposing alcohol for sale and one of having alcohol under his possession or control which he intended to sell.

At Dudley Magistrates Court on December 4, he was sentenced to two 8-week prison sentences to run concurrently, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work, pay a surcharge of £154 and costs of £5,678.

Mahani had been the proprietor of a city store previously known as Super Mahan in Thornley Street. The store has since changed owners.

The council first prosecuted Mahani in 2020 after seizing a number of products including illicit cigarettes and tobacco as well as Subitex tablets, a controlled Class C drug. Single cans and bottles of beer, lager and cider over 6.5 % ABV, were also on sale, in breach of the licensing conditions.

During the later seizures in 2023, alcohol was found on shelving on the shop floor and behind the counter, in a basement, a storeroom and in a small cupboard under the stairs behind the counter.

In sentencing, District Judge Wilkinson said it was clear that Mahani believed the law did not apply to him and that there was “clear evidence of a pattern of criminality.”

He added: “You have been to prison before and you should be aware you would have gone today had it not been for the crisis facing prisons. You will pay the full costs because the council is funded by taxpayers and should not have to foot this bill.”

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Despite our repeated warnings, revocation of his licence and time in prison, Mahani continued to trade.

“We carried out this prosecution to send a message to others that if we have revoked your licence, we will do all we can to stop you continuing to sell. This is a great result for our Licensing team and I would like to thank them for their hard work.”

Anyone who thinks they may have been sold illegal goods, or suspects someone of selling them, can email trading.standards@wolverhampton.gov.uk or licensing@wolverhampton.gov.uk