High street stores caught out ‘illegally selling cannabis and cocaine’

An investigation from the BBC has found that buying illegal drugs on high streets in the West Midlands is much easier than it appears.

A reporter went undercover at multiple shops, and after asking one clerk, the employee called his ‘boss’ and asked him to sort ‘1g of coke today’.

In another instance, in a shop called Cradley Market, in the town of Cradley Heath, BBC reporters were handed 3.5g of cannabis for just £30.

The reporter was taken to the back of the shop and handed a small bag of the drug. A gram of cocaine was sold for £95 just hours later.

When the shop owner, Akwa, was confronted afterwards, he denied any wrongdoing and asked the reporter to leave.

Sandwell Council, which operates in the town, said they were working with local police to tackle illegal activity. Some shops offered cannabis vapes, illegal cigarettes and nitrous oxide.

In Dudley, the council said it’s been working to rid the borough of businesses run by ‘organised crime’.

They added: ‘The council has delivered some of the strongest enforcement outcomes in the country and, to date, 42 shops have been successfully closed.’

The shocking videos of mini mart employees offering drugs to customers come after a crime network operating more than 100 shops, car washes and barbers was shut down last year.

Fake company directors are being paid to put their names on official paperwork, but are not involved in running the companies.

Asylum seekers were found to be working 14-hour shifts in these shops for just £4 per hour.

The crime syndicate was uncovered when two Kurdish journalists posed as asylum seekers. They were told how easy it would be for them to run a shop selling illegal vapes and cigarettes.

One man told the BBC that he could make up to £3,000 per week selling the products. There are fears that similar gangs are operating across the UK.

During the investigation, an asylum seeker – who said his claim was rejected – tried to sell a shop to an undercover BBC reporter for £18,000.

The Government said that more than 8,000 illegal workers have been arrested in the past year, and 11,000 raids have been carried out by Immigration Enforcement.

More than 1,050 foreign nationals involved in these operations have been deported, according to the Home Office.

Any business found hiring illegal workers faces fines of up to £60,000 per worker, up to five years in prison, and their business being shut down.

Following the BBC’s investigation, West Midlands Police said two people have been arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs through shops in the West Midlands.

The man and woman were arrested on Thursday in the town of Dudley, according to West Midlands Police, who added that they expect to make more arrests.

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