Jo Jo Convenience Store Stripped of Licence
Officers tell meeting of persistent criminal activity at the premises
Jo Jo Convenience Store on Fulham High Street
January 22, 2026
A Fulham High Street store has lost its alcohol licence after selling illegal tobacco and duty-free drinks.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council officers said there was a “persistent and deliberate pattern of criminal activity” at Jo Jo Convenience Store and revoked its licence during a meeting Tuesday night (January 20).
The council turned down an offer by Jo Jo’s licence holder, Kalyan Singh, of a three-month suspension and a new licensing condition restricting the purchase of tobacco and alcohol products from “reputable wholesalers”.
The store sold counterfeit shishas and duty-free cigarettes and vodka to undercover trading standards officers multiple times between January 2022 and March 2025, a council report shows.
During the licence review meeting, a senior trading standards officer said she “strongly believed” revocation was the best way forward and felt the proposed new conditions would make no difference to the store’s operation.
She said: “This is not a case of misunderstanding or isolated mistakes, the business has repeatedly chosen to knowingly engage in criminal conduct despite clear warnings and opportunities to comply. These goods are not only illegal but pose a serious risk to public health.”
Officers said they believed Mr Singh sold them illegal products on two separate occasions and had been working at the store for the last four to five years. They also said the former licence holder, Gajinder Singh Sachdeva, was still an employee and his daughter was listed as a director of the company which owned the store.
Mr Singh, through his representative, Surendra Panchal, said he was aware counterfeit products were being sold. Mr Panchal said Mr Sachdeva had been removed from “responsible authority” and a decision was being made about his future with the store.
Mr Panchal urged officers to accept Jo Jo’s offer of a three-month suspension arguing it would bring in “a better Mr Kalyan”. He said: “If we were to revoke it totally, we’re saying to ourselves, let’s lock them in and throw the key away.”
Another officer added: “I’m not convinced this business is attempting to trade legally or would in future.”
Jo Jo’s has 28 days to appeal the decision.
A council report said Trading Standards officers seized 529 illegal e-cigarettes from Jo Jo Convenience during a raid in January 2022. The smokes contained six times the maximum amount of e-liquid and 5 per cent nicotine, compared to the maximum permitted of 2pc.
Mr Sachdeva, the licence holder at the time, said the items had been brought in from “a caller to the shop”.
In May that same year, officers conducted a secret test purchase and collected two packs of Polish-market Marlboro Gold cigarettes, which were illegal to sell in the UK, for £8 each. A month later, they returned with a detection dog and uncovered a large quantity of concealed illegal cigarettes, counterfeit shishas and Smirnoff vodka, which was genuine but owing UK duty.
In October 2024, officers carried out another test purchase and bought a packet of Marlboro Gold marked as “for duty-free sale only” for £10. Officers returned twice over the next two months and were able to purchase more duty-free cigarettes. Officers returned once more in March 2025 and requested a packet of Marlboro Gold.
The next day Trading standards visited with a detection dog.
Mr Singh was the only person working in the shop and despite being told the reason for the visit and asked to say where illegal goods were being kept, he made no attempt to help officers, the report said.
Officers retrieved 25 packs of duty-free cigarettes, seven large packs of hand-rolling tobacco, 33 oversized vapes and six bottles of Smirnoff Vodka owing duties. According to officers, tobacco products were concealed around the shop in crisp boxes, behind food on shelves and in boxes marked as containing legal e-cigarettes. The bottles of vodka were on display on the shelves behind the counter.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter