A Barrow shop has been ordered to close for three months following a joint operation by Westmorland and Furness Trading Standards and Barrow Neighbourhood Policing Team.
The closure order has been brought under anti-social behaviour legislation and is the first in Westmorland and Furness for the sales of illegal tobacco or vapes from a business.
Westmorland and Furness Council secured the three-month closure order at Barrow Magistrates Court on Monday (20 October) on Gurga Vape Shop Ltd, trading as Easy Shop at 118 Church Street, Barrow-in-Furness.
The court heard the shop has been the subject of multiple enforcement visits dating back to May 2024, when the premises traded as C K Newspoint.
In July 2024, trading standards officers from the council visited the shop with a tobacco detection dog and found 6,840 cigarettes, 4.85 kilos of hand rolling tobacco and 196 vapes concealed under the floor. The illegal goods, with an estimated street value of £28,000, were seized by officers. A week later, a further visit was conducted and officers found more illegal tobacco being concealed on the premises and within a vehicle.
In January 2025, the shop changed ownership and started trading as Easy Shop. Trading Standards revisited the shop and seized a further consignment of hand rolling tobacco, cigarettes and vapes.
In February and April, the shop also failed under-age test purchase exercises, when underage volunteers were sold vapes.
During another search of the shop with a tobacco detection dog earlier this month, a large quantity of tobacco products was seized after two further concealments were discovered, one hidden in a waste pipe and the second within a brick wall.
With evidence of persistent criminal activity, the council’s Trading Standards team successfully applied for the closure order to protect the local community and to prevent further harm.
Councillor John Murray, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Regulatory Services, said: “This closure order sends a clear message that we will not tolerate the sale of illegal tobacco or vaping products here in Westmorland and Furness.
“These items are not only harmful to residents’ health, they also undermine legitimate local businesses and fund organised crime.
“I am delighted with the work of our Trading Standards team and Cumbria Police in bringing this case to a successful conclusion. This is the first closure order in the area for such activity and we will be seeking to use this powerful enforcement mechanism much more in the future to tackle and prevent the sales of illegal tobacco and vapes.”
Sergeant Paul Holmes, Barrow Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This premises has repeatedly been observed failing test purchase operations and selling illicit goods.
“We’d like to thank members of the community for reporting concerns about this shop, which has allowed us to work alongside our partners at Westmorland and Furness Council to build an intelligence picture and take action, preventing the further sales of potentially dangerous products.
“Closure orders on premises such as this is not just about the sale of illicit goods. These operations undermine legitimate business, often exploit vulnerable individuals, and pose serious safety concerns.
“We will continue to assist and work with our partner agencies to hold people and businesses to account.”
Anyone with information about the sale of illegal tobacco products can contact the Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 or visiting www.adviceguide.org.uk