A shop in South Croydon has been ordered to pay £4,186.88 after selling a vape to a young person under the age of 18.
Croydon’s trading standards team organised a test purchase, with an underage volunteer at the Brighton Road Supermarket, on 13 August 2024. The cashier failed to ask for identification and sold the vape, which was observed by a trading standards officer.
Ingaran Santhirasekaram, the owner of the shop, pleaded guilty at Croydon Magistrates’ Court to the offence of selling a disposable vape to a person under the age of 18. He was ordered to pay a fine of £1,461, along with costs of £2,141.88 and a victim surcharge of £584, which came to a total of £4,186.88.
Before the offence took place, Santhirasekaram was invited by Croydon’s trading standards to take part in a free training session about preventing underage sales, but they did not attend. They were also informed that a test purchasing exercise would be taking place within the following three months.
Croydon is cracking down on underage sales, which supports Executive Mayor Jason Perry’s priority to make Croydon cleaner, safer and healthier. The sale of vapes to children may cause serious harm as the nicotine content can lead to addiction.
“This prosecution is another great result from our award-winning trading standards team who are working hard to protect our residents.
“We want to work with all businesses in Croydon to help them operate within the law, and urge businesses to take up our offer of free training and guidance.
“Protecting residents’ health, alongside helping legitimate businesses, is really important, so please contact us if you suspect illegal trading.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
If you are a business owner and are interested in taking part in training to prevent illegal sales, contact Croydon Council by emailing: trading.standards@croydon.gov.uk
If you suspect a business is selling illegally, you can anonymously report them to London Trading Standards.
