Southwark Council have named a shop on the Old Kent Road has been ordered to shut for three months after it was found selling illegal tobacco and vapes, including to children.
Koya One mini market at 430-432 Old Kent Road will have to close until March 22 following a closure order granted by Croydon Magistrates Court on the application of Southwark Council.
The council said an investigation by it’s trading standards team included nine undercover test purchases of illicit and counterfeit tobacco products and three sales of counterfeit cigarettes to children for £5 a pack.
The trading standard’s team said their investigation led to the seizure of some 117,000 cigarettes and 525 illegal vapes.
The council said: “The cigarettes were found in sophisticated hides or concealments or in a car nearby.”
Adding: “Specialist tobacco sniffer dogs were used to find the products.”
The closure order was granted by Croydon Magistrates Court on Monday 22 December 2025 on the application of the council under the Court’s closure order powers set out in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
The application was opposed by the respondents, but the Court found that there was sufficient evidence to establish that there had been wrongdoing on the premises in the past, and that a closure order was necessary to prevent the wrongdoing from continuing.
Councillor Natasha Ennin – Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Neighbourhoods at Southwark Council, said: “The sale of illicit tobacco and vapes poses major health risks to our communities and undermines our honest legitimate shopkeepers.
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“Securing this closure order is a great result for our trading standards team and shows Southwark Council will not tolerate shops being taken over by organised criminal groups.
“We are committed to working with the police and public health colleagues, to maintain a healthy environment and safer and fairer Southwark.”
