A Bury store with a history of illegal trade and allegations of underaged sales has been denied a new licence over fears it will slip back into previous criminal habits.
Objections from council and police
Objecting to the licence, Bury council officers said their team has had dealings with the store on multiple occasions over the years when it was still Express Mini Market. These were largely prompted by complaints regarding underage sales of vapes, cigarettes and alcohol, council documents state.
On one occasion, the parent of a 14-year-old girl complained she got drunk after she allegedly bought a litre of vodka and two disposable vapes from the store, according to council documents. Officers said they were unable to verify the claim as CCTV footage from the time was found to be missing.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP), which has also objected to the new licence, added 3,010 vapes, 6,100 cigarettes, 1.65k of HRT and a ‘quantity of’ unsafe toys were also seized from Express Mini Market over the years. In November 2025, the council revoked Express Mini Market’s alcohol licence, citing prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; prevention of public nuisance; and the protection of children from harm as their reasons for this decision.
Further seizures and closure
Trading Standard officers said they carried out a follow-up visit in December during which 16 cans of alcohol were seized, alongside ‘illicit tobacco’ and ‘counterfeit’ headphones. Counterfeit Labubu dolls were also found during a visit in January.
A closure order was issued by Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court in February.
The Bolton Street store changed hands during the closure, with new owner Alin Zamfir reopening at Ava Market. Mr Zamfir went on to apply to Bury council for an alcohol licence.
New owner's assurances challenged
This was met with protests from Trading Standards and GMP who claimed Mr Zamfir had been working at the premises at the time of the previous breaches and feared it ‘wouldn’t be long before the licensing objectives were undermined once again’.
Representing Mr Zamfir at this week's (Monday, August 17) licensing hearing, Geoff Dixon argued that any illegal trade in Express Mini Market was ‘history’ and Mr Zamfir was not involved with the shop or its previous owner – Mr Faraydn Qasmpwr – at the time of the breaches. Nor was Mr Qasmpwr now involved in the shop now it has reopened as Ava Market, Mr Dixon added.
He continued: “Mr Zamfir has sat his personal licence exam [...] He has been studying all four licensing objectives, he has training manuals, he has refusal registers, he has all the required relevant notices and has already refused sales to underage people, so, we're quite confident that from an experience point of view, this business wouldn't pose a problem.
However, doubt was cast on these assurances when officers from Trading Standards and GMP told the meeting they had seen Mr Zamfir working behind the counter when they went to serve the closure order in February, when it was still owned by Mr Qasmpwr. Trading Standards officer Kelly Halligan added she had also seen Mr Qasmpwr ‘stacking shelves’ when she walked past the store at the start of August.
Ms Halligan said: “I've seen him (Mr Zamfir) in there on a few occasions, and he was definitely there on the day of the closure order behind the counter serving customers, but you're saying he didn’t work in the shop.”
Mr Zamfir was the only person working in the shop at the time and had to fetch Mr Qasmpwr from the neighbouring barbers shop to pass on the closure order, she and GMP’s Peter Eccleston claimed.
She added: “Why, on the first of August did I see Mr Qasmpwr in the shop stocking the shelves? [...] I saw it with my own two eyes through the shop window, him stocking the shelves.”
Mr Zamfir denied that he had ever worked for Mr Qasmpwr, saying he had only met him in January after a friend told him the shop might be coming up for sale. He initially told the committee he was behind the counter because he was helping Mr Qasmpwr remove his personal items from the shop.
Mr Dixon later argued his client was serving behind the counter because he was trying to get a feel for the business before buying it.
It was ‘not possible’ that Ms Halligan saw Mr Qasmpwr stocking shelves in August, Mr Zamfir added.
Committee ruling
Pc Eccleston questioned why Mr Qasmpwr would be comfortable enough to leave Mr Zamfir in charge of his shop if he had only known him for a matter of weeks. He also questioned why Mr Zamfir would accept the closure notice rather than telling the officers it was ‘nowt to do with’ him.
He added: “There's a lot of question marks in relation to this and I'm not confident that Mr Zamfir has nothing to do with Mr Qasmpwr whatsoever.”
Both officers raised further concerns over a third individual who is listed briefly on Companies House as being involved in Ava Market. That person has a shop in Wales which was also found to be selling illegal goods.
In his closing argument, Mr Dixon said: “We cannot sit and in balance of probability, say because that man worked in the shop or because that man was in the shop that this person is going to breach the four licensing objectives.
“If the police and Trading Standards were so concerned that this business was still being run illicitly, where were the test purchases when this business was open for vapes?
“This business has a refusals register that hasn't been checked by any of the police or the Trading Standards. This business has every legal piece of paper it needs to display to ensure it runs properly in compliance with the licensing objectives [...]
“I still believe it cannot be associated that this gentleman was implicit in any of the activity prior to him taking the lease, and since then, no activity has been detected at the premises.”
However, the licensing panel ruled that the licence should be refused as they felt the council’s objective to prevent crime and disorder would be ‘undermined’ if it was allowed.
Committee chair Babar Ibrahim said councillors still had uncertainties when it came to Mr Zamfir’s association with the previous owner, with the evidence of a potential connection from Ms Halligan and Pc Eccleston judged to be ‘more credible and more consistent’.
