A Birmingham vape shop, Sanka Vapes, located at 450 Birchfield Road in Perry Barr, is under scrutiny after being caught selling vapes to children and stocking illegal tobacco products. Following an investigation by Birmingham City Council’s Trading Standards, the store’s premises licence is now set for review.
In April, a 12-year-old volunteer, accompanied by another child, successfully purchased a Hayati Pro Max 6,000 puff vape from the store without any age verification or ID checks. Trading Standards officers confronted the employee behind the counter, Mr. Gurjeet Singh, who sold the vape to the underage children, reminding him that selling nicotine products to anyone under 18 is illegal.
During the visit, officers also discovered illegal single-use vapes exceeding size limits and large quantities of illicit tobacco stocked on the premises, including counterfeit cigarettes such as Amber Leaf, Sovereign, Richmond, Marlboro Touch, Lambert & Butler, and Benson and Hedges. These products were later confirmed counterfeit after brand holder testing. Additional smuggled cigarettes without UK health warnings were found, including Manchester and Platinum brands.
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Two days after the initial visit, Trading Standards returned and searched the premises. They seized 146 illegal vapes, 274 packets of illicit or counterfeit tobacco, and 26 packets of illicit hand-rolling tobacco, including cigarettes hidden under floorboards. The shop was trading as Sanka Vapes but is registered publicly as Singh Convenience.
Despite repeated attempts to interview the shop’s director, Mrs. Satwant Kaur Minglani, and other responsible parties, none have cooperated. The licensed premises supervisor is Mr. Parmajeet Singh Minglani. The investigation faced further complications when an email was received from Tarandeep Minglani claiming the family had “given the shop away” and were no longer the owners.
Trading Standards now seek a thorough licensing review, citing serious concerns about the management’s lack of responsibility and the sale of age-restricted and illicit products. Chief Inspector Martin Williams condemned the absence of licence holders and requested the revocation of the current licence. He also recommended that Mr. Gurjeet Singh be barred from any future licensing due to his involvement in illegal sales.
The licence review application is in public consultation until August 18.