A POLISH shop-owner will have his licence to sell alcohol taken from him.

Michal Ryszard Cekus of Cricklade Road store Mike PL, said his father had agreed a dodgy white van man could leave thousands of counterfeit cigarettes and dozens of illegal bottles of booze in his shop.

But trading standards officers and police queried the claims, saying the items were being sold.

At meeting of Swindon Borough Council’s licensing panel, Cekus was told his licence would be revoked. He will be able to continue to sell alcohol from the Gorse Hill shop until a 21-day review period has come to an end.

Wiltshire Police brought an application to review Mr Cekus’ licence after a joint raid on the shop with the borough;s trading standards team uncovered more than 3,000 counterfeit or non-duty paid cigarettes and 1,350g of loose-leaf tobacco, together with 71 bottles of foreign-import spirits.

They found cigarettes hidden in boxes with packets of rice and crisps. Other containers in the shop storeroom hid bottles of alcohol, while a rucksack was found to contain more counterfeit cigarettes.

But licence-holder Cekus claimed the items had merely been stored by his Polish father at Easter on behalf of a unofficial deliveryman driving a white van, who said he would return to collect the cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol the following week. Cekus said he was unaware the items had been stashed in the shop. His father, a former alcoholic, had been paid in spirits.

But trading standards officer Natalie Hill attempted to rubbish the claims, saying some of the booze had been behind the counter: “The bottle of Soplicas [a Polish vodka brand] were on display.”

Swindon Borough Council’s licensing panel appeared to agree with her. Coun Vera Tomlinson, chairman of the licensing panel, said councillors were not convinced of Cekus’ explanation for the presence of the counterfeit items. They revoked the licence, citing the need to reduce crime and disorder.

Police and trading standards raided the shop on April 10. A Polish-born police officer translated for Cekus’ father, who was behind the store counter at the time of the raid.

Ms Hill said: “When we first went in there and asked where the alcohol had come from, he said he’d purchased the alcohol and the tobacco. This story keeps changing.

“We said, ‘Are there any more [bottles and cigarettes] here?’ He said no. We kept finding more and more.”

PC Mike Diffin, Wiltshire Police’s licensing officer, said of Cekus’s father: “After we seized the bag, he had the gall to deny the bag was his, then ask for his nail scissors [from the bag].”

Officers also questioned the timeline offered by Cekus. Ms Hill said trading standards had been tipped off about the counterfeit tobacco sales at the beginning of March, several weeks before Cekus claimed the items had been left with his father.

But Ms Hill admitted the only evidence they had for the alcohol and tobacco was for sale was the large quantity of the items and their tip off. She told councillors: “We had intelligence it was being sold. We didn’t carry out a test purchase because they only sell it to people they know.

“It was a large enough quantity to suggest it wasn’t for personal use. [During other raids] we have found more and we have found less. We did find a lot and it was for sale.”

Officers also said Cekus was breaching the majority of his licence requirements. He was unable to demonstrate staff were trained in the Challenge 25 policy, which sees those who look under-25 asked for proof of their age. CCTV cameras in the store were also found to be dummy kit.

PC Diffin said: “All the conditions of the licence bar one was being breached at the time of the visit.”

HM Revenue and Customs have destroyed the counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco. PC Diffin said they were considering fining Cekus for unpaid duty.

Cekus said he was considering selling the shop.