Spalding store cannot hire man with ‘significant links to criminal behaviour’

A town store will not be allowed to hire a man with ‘significant links to criminal behaviour’.

The Deli Super Market in Spalding’s Sheep Market had lodged an appeal for Haiman Fatah Mohamad to work at the premises.

Mr Mohamad was jailed for 16 months in February 2023 after a Lincolnshire Trading Standards raid uncovered 100,000 illegal cigarettes.

The contraband was found in hides at the Euro Express in Commercial Road, Spalding - which authorities said was wholly a front for an illegal cigarette business - as well as his car and home.

South Holland District Council’s licensing panel rejected the request for Mr Mohamad to be employed by the Deli Super Market following this morning’s hearing.

He was banned from entering or having any part in the running of the business as part of the original licensing agreement for the store when it took over the former Hughes electrical site in September.

The applicant, however, had requested he be allowed to work at the store while under supervision.

“The condition that the applicant was applying to change had in fact been imposed at the suggestion of the applicant to allay fears as to the involvement of an individual with significant links to criminal behaviour,” the decision notice posted by the authority following this morning’s hearing explained, adding ‘the current conditions are working’.

“The individual that the applicant seeks to employ has a history of links to criminality dating back to 2011, covering different areas of the country including having served a prison sentence as recently as 2023 for offences relating to illegal cigarettes.

“The panel is not imposing any further punishment upon the individual, however it needs to consider what is appropriate to promote the licensing objectives.

“Whilst the individual concerned may feel that he has been rehabilitated and the panel acknowledges the importance of rehabilitation, the risks in this case are too great.”

The application from the premises stated it wanted to employ Mr Mohamad after he had ‘fallen out of work’.

However, the panel’s findings added that ‘there are many other jobs that the individual could hold that do not involve him working on licensed premises’.

“The effect of the application to vary would be to allow this individual access to the premises but only under supervision,” it continued.

“The panel considered that the individual has proved adept at concealing matters, including illicit items being found at his home address, at a time that the DPS was not present, and the previous cases also make reference to concealed hides operated by an electronic fob.

“Whilst the DPS believes that the individual could be supervised these are premises that are open from 7am to 11pm every day.

“The panel do not feel that the supervision could alleviate the risks that exist relating to this individual as there is a considerable risk that he will find a way to evade the supervision.

“As a technical point there is nothing to prevent him being employed by the company that holds the premises licence it is simply that he cannot be employed in a management or ownership capacity and cannot attend on the premises.”

LincsOnline attended this morning’s meeting, but were excluded from hearing all of the information.

The panel added they were ‘pleased to hear that there have been no issues raised as to the current running of the premises’.

In summary, the decision notice added: The panel considered whether there was any package of conditions that would promote the licensing objectives and allow the individual access to the premises and concluded that the risks to the licensing objectives been undermined was too great considering the history of the individual involved.

“The application is therefore rejected.”