Kettering shop has licence revoked after illicit cigarettes found in hidden compartment

A Kettering newsagents has been stripped of its licence after illicit cigarettes were found in a hidden compartment.

The duty not-paid products were discovered when police and trading standards officers carried out a spot-check at Braces News & Off Licence on November 8.

The Montagu Street store was one of three shops visited after an anonymous tip-off from a member of the public.

Quality Food 4 You Ltd, which trades as Braces News, had its licence suspended at an expedited hearing later that month and it has now had its licence revoked by North Northamptonshire Council.

Police papers discussed by councillors said that, during the raid, a hidden compartment in the kitchen area of the shop’s back store room was found.

Inside it were duty not-paid cigarettes and tobacco, worth thousands of pounds.

Councillors had ‘serious concerns’ that the licensing objectives in relation to the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety were being undermined by criminal activity at the licensed premises.

A police spokesman confirmed nobody has been arrested in connection with the discovery.