A Gloucester-based business and its director have been sentenced following the seizure of hundreds of illegal disposable vapes stored in a hidden room within their shop.
Azad Mohammed Hamad and Ranya GL1 Ltd, trading as Red Power Shop on Southgate Street, Gloucester, were sentenced at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Monday after pleading guilty to multiple offences under the Tobacco & Related Products Regulations 2016.
Hamad, aged 29, received a suspended prison sentence of four months on each of the nine charges, all to run concurrently. He was also subjected to a four-month curfew between 10pm and 6am, during which he must wear an electronic tag. Additionally, Hamad was disqualified from acting as a company director for two years. He has been ordered to pay £2,500 towards the council’s costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
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Ranya GL1 Ltd was fined a total of £4,000 and must also pay a £1,600 victim surcharge. The court mandated the destruction of all seized vapes and electronic cigarettes.
The case emerged after a Trading Standards officer from Gloucestershire County Council made a test purchase of an illegal oversized vape from the shop on 24 January 2025. Despite a warning letter delivered to the business, further test purchases indicated that illegal sales persisted.
An inspection on 27 February 2025 revealed paper flavour lists hidden beneath the shop counter. Officers also discovered a concealed room behind a door in the shop’s toilet area, secured by remote-controlled magnetic locks. Inside, shelves were stocked with disposable vapes.
During this visit, officers seized 455 illegal devices. Subsequent test purchases and inspections on 11 and 13 March 2025 led to the seizure of an additional 135 illegal vapes. In total, Trading Standards confiscated 590 illegal disposable vapes and obtained six further illegal products through test purchases.
These products breached legal limits because they contained nicotine liquids exceeding the maximum permitted capacity of 2ml. Labels on the seized items indicated capacities of 10ml, 12ml, and 18ml.
Councillor Paul Hodgkinson, cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “This case involved persistent offending with a substantial quantity of illegal products, including stock concealed in a hidden room. Illegal oversized vapes undermine safeguards designed to control nicotine-containing products and create an unfair trading environment for compliant businesses. Our Trading Standards officers will continue to take action against businesses that break the law and place consumers at risk.”