A Surrey shopkeeper was stripped of his licence after being found to have sold knives, alcohol and drugs to children.

Harmon Singh Kapoor, of Premier Frimley Local, known as the Wharf Road Store in Frimley Green had his licence revoked for “repeated breaches”.

These included selling nitrous oxide to a 17 year old, THC laced vapes in the the store, as well as selling alcohol and stanley knives to minors.

Mr Kapoor, who broke down in tears during the hearing, said they had taken a large loan to secure the business and his elderly parents relied on him.

The three hour hearing on Wednesday, August 6, heard how Surrey Police and licensing officers had made regular visits to the store after receiving tip offs it was breaching conditions.

In the UK, when a shop is “stripped of its licence”  it means the council has decided to remove the shop’s legal right to carry out certain licensed activities – such as selling alcohol and tobacco.

Edward Elton, on behalf of Surrey Police, said: “A man attended the store because his 17-year-old son, a child in law, had bought £530 of nitrous oxide from the Wharf Road Stores, and he’d done that in one day.

“That is something that in and of itself should result in revocation. Firstly Nitrous oxide is a Class C drug and has been since November 2023. And if there had been £530 of sales to a single person, that’s a number of criminal offences. To a child, that has even more impact.

“It’s obviously not right to sell this controlled drug to children and brings in questions of addiction,  where a child is spending that much money in one day on a controlled drug and it was left unchecked by the store.”

He said that was “just the latest of the failings”. 

On other occasions Surrey Police found two canisters behind the counter that were seized and sent for testing, tests came back confirming they contained the psychoactive drug THC.

Mr Elton added:“We’ll all be aware now of CBD, cannabidiol which is used in some alternative therapies in creams or whatever.

“Cannabidiol contains no psychoactive agent and is lawful to sell products. It is just a leaf; the bit that is psychoactive has been removed.

“The psychoactive part is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – and those two canisters found by us behind the till contained THC. They were there, ready to be sold. “

The list of breaches said to have been found within the store, he continued, included soft drinks with unlawful additives, best before dates on alcohol rubbed off, box after box of counterfeit cigarettes and counterfeit chocolate.

The committee also heard that in November 2023 and November 2024 children were sold knives having been sent in as mystery shoppers to test whether the store was adhering to its licence.

Mr Elton said: “It is clear that the shop and the designated premises supervisor are going for profit and an easy life, not abiding by the law.”

Surendra Panchal, senior licensing consultant on behalf of Mr Kapoor told the meeting his client had worked in licensed premises between 2016 and 2022 without any reported issues prior to talking over the store. 

The family had taken out a large loan to take on the business and needed it to work to make the repayments. Risking breaches, the meeting heard, could risk default on repayments and was not worth it.

Mr Pachal also highlighted six police tests the store had passed – saying it showed they were acting appropriately.

As for the illegal stock, they said a “Mr John” whose own business was closing had left them for Mr Kapoor to chose what he wanted and to leave the rest.

He said the Class B drugs were marked as ‘not for sale’ and left in the back of the shop unused.

Mr Kapoor added: “I have my parents who are already dependent on me, my dad is over 85, my mum also”,  before having to pause when becoming visibly emotional. 

Committee Chair, Cllr Valerie White, said: “The subcommittee has decided to revoke the premises licence to Premier Frimley Local.

“The decision is necessary and proportionate to promote the licensing objectives and protect the public from harm.

“The reason for the decision is the committee found serious and repeated breaches of all four licensing objectives.

“Crime and disorder;  the premise was involved in criminal activity including the sale of controlled substances and illegal goods.

“The license holder obstructed enforcement and breached license conditions including CCTV access.

“Public safety; unsafe and non complaint goods were sold despite repeated warnings.

“Public nuisance; the premises contributed to the antisocial behaviour and community consent particularly due to the proximity of a youth centre.

“Protection of children; alcohol, tobacco, nitrous oxide, and knives were sold to minors on multiple associations.”

The committee said it considered less steps but that revocation was the only appropriate course of action.

Mr Kapoor has 21 days from the date of notice to appeal the decision but had not done so at the time of writing.