Lincoln Magistrates Court issued a closure order on 110 High Street in the city following an application by Lincolnshire Trading Standards.
Earlier this year, following a number of separate seizures of counterfeit and illegal cigarettes from the High Street store, Lincolnshire Trading Standards notified the landlord that his premises were being used for criminal activity.
The landlord wasted no time in ordering bailiffs to evict his tenants. Unfortunately, once the bailiffs had left, the tenants broke back into the store and continued to trade in illicit tobacco.
During further raids on the store on 15 and 16 December 2020, officers seized a further 25,000 illegal cigarettes.
On Friday 18 December, a closure notice was granted on the shop at Lincoln Magistrates Court, making it a criminal offence to enter the premises for three months.
The district judge said, "It is necessary to approve this order to prevent any future criminal conduct from this address."
This Trading Standards action is part of Lincolnshire Police's Operation Vigilance. The joint operation project to tackle child sexual and criminal exploitation in the county, and the sale of illegal cigarettes is directly linked to organised crime in our area.
Criminal investigations in respect of the activities at 110 High Street are ongoing.
Andy Wright, Principal Trading Standards Officer involved in the case, said: "Lincolnshire Trading Standards is happy to support the police with their initiative under Op Vigilance. The excellent results that have been achieved show what can be accomplished through working with partner agencies including police, Immigration, and district councils.
"In respect of 110 High Street, Lincoln, we notified the landlord of the criminal activity taking place at his premises and to his credit he took immediate action. Unfortunately that action was frustrated at every turn by the deliberate actions of his tenants. The landlord did everything reasonably expected of him in the circumstances. For those reasons we sought to assist his efforts by applying for a closure order, effectively closing down the business for three months.
"First and foremost we will always seek to work with premises landlords in order to stop illegal trading at premises they own. However, where their genuine attempts to resolve the situation fail, we will resort to all methods at our disposal to stop such criminal activity.
"110 High Street was a very small shop; it contained very little legal stock and its shelves were sparsely filled. It was not difficult to see that selling the food items present on the shelves was not a viable business. Instead the true business was the sale of illegal cigarettes.
"Unfortunately, that this is not the only such premises in Lincolnshire. There are many similar premises in Lincoln, Boston, Grantham and Spalding and we will continue to take action in respect of these premises.
"Detailed information received from members of the public assists my officers tremendously and I would ask anyone with information to share any information they have with us."
If you have any information regarding the sale of illegal cigarettes in Lincolnshire, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.