THE owner of an Eastbourne off-licence where more than £18,000 worth of illegal vapes were discovered has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Hamza Pirot, 52, the licence holder for Zap Off Licence Limited in Seaside Road, was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, after being found guilty of possessing 1,866 illegal vapes.
Appearing at Brighton Crown Court on Monday, July 6, Pirot was also ordered to complete 75 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months.
Pirot had previously been warned by East Sussex Trading Standards officers about the possession of illegal over-capacity vapes in 2022 and 2023.
An inspection by Trading Standards officers in April 2024 uncovered 33 vapes in a plastic bag on the shop counter and a further 1,833 in a basement area of the shop.
When formally interviewed, Pirot denied any offences claiming the items had been in the store prior to the 2023 inspection and that his London-based supplier had refused to take them back and issue a refund. He blamed the discovery of the illegal items found by the sale counter on a former employee who had taken them upstairs from the basement by mistake.
But he was found guilty after a short trial at Brighton Magistrates Court in February this year.
And following Pirot’s guilty verdict and an application by East Sussex Trading Standards, Eastbourne Borough Council’s licensing panel revoked the shop’s licence for the sale of alcohol at a hearing in May.
Cllr Pete Morley, East Sussex County Council lead member with responsibility for Trading Standards, said: “As well as undermining businesses who trade within the law, the sale of illegal vapes, which avoid vital safety checks and are linked to organised crime, puts our residents at risk.
“Having warned Mr Pirot on previous occasions, our Trading Standards officers remained vigilant and have been able to keep a significant number of illegal vapes off the streets.
“We take the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products extremely seriously and this case shows that we will do everything in our power to take action against anyone putting our residents at risk.”
A forfeiture and destruction order was granted by Brighton Crown Court for the illegal vapes and a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation hearing has been set for October.
