A Gloucester business and its director have been sentenced following repeated sales and supplies of illegal disposable vapes, following an investigation by Gloucestershire County Council’s Trading Standards team.
Azad Mohammed Hamad, aged 29, and Ranya GL1 Ltd, trading as Red Power Shop in Southgate Street, Gloucester, were sentenced at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on 28 September 2026, after previously pleading guilty to offences under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.
Hamad was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment suspended for one year, on each of the nine offences he was charged with, to run concurrently. He was put on a four month curfew from 10pm to 6am and will be required to wear a tag. Hamad was also banned from being a company director for two years, was ordered to contribute £2,500 to the council’s costs and to pay a £154 victim surcharge.
Ranya GL1 Ltd was fined £4,000 in total and ordered to pay a £1,600 victim surcharge. The court ordered the destruction of the vapes/electronic cigarettes.
The prosecution arose after a Trading Standards officer made a test purchase of an illegal oversized vape from the shop on 24 January 2025. A warning letter was hand delivered to the business, but further test purchases showed the sale of illegal products continued.
During an inspection on 27 February 2025, officers found paper flavour lists hidden under the counter and discovered a concealed room behind a doorway in the shop’s toilet area. The hidden room, secured by remote-controlled magnetic locks, contained shelves stocked with disposable vapes.
Officers seized 455 illegal devices during that visit. Despite the seizure, further test purchases were made from the premises and additional inspections on 11 and 13 March 2025 resulted in another 135 illegal vapes being seized.
In total, Trading Standards officers seized 590 illegal disposable vapes and obtained six illegal products through test purchases.
The products breached legal requirements because they exceeded the maximum permitted capacity of 2ml of nicotine-containing liquid. Packaging on products seized during the investigation stated capacities including 10ml, 12ml and 18ml.
Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “This was persistent offending involving a significant quantity of illegal products, including stock concealed in a hidden room.
“Illegal oversized vapes undermine the safeguards put in place 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 put consumers at risk.”