Shop owner fined £6,500 after vape sold to 14-year-old

Nation.Cymru staff

A Cardiff shop owner and his company have been ordered to pay almost £6,500 after a vape was sold to a 14-year-old during a Trading Standards test purchase operation.

Jihad Abass Subhan, of Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, and his business, Corner Mini Market, were sentenced at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on June 9 after being prosecuted for selling an age-restricted nicotine product to a child.

Mr Subhan did not attend court and the case was proved in his absence.

The prosecution followed a sting operation carried out by Trading Standards officers using underage volunteers to test whether retailers were complying with laws governing the sale of age-restricted products.

The court heard that the sale took place despite Mr Subhan having already received a warning from the Shared Regulatory Service the previous month following an earlier failed test purchase.

After the first incident in March 2025, officers issued a warning letter and provided guidance on legal responsibilities and age-verification procedures.

However, when officers carried out a further test purchase in April, a vape was again sold to an underage volunteer.

Trading Standards officers who entered the shop after the sale said Mr Subhan apologised and claimed he had been distracted because he was on the phone at the time.

When questioned about age-verification procedures, including the widely used Challenge 25 scheme, officers said he was unable to explain the basic checks expected of retailers selling age-restricted products.

Selling vapes, tobacco products and other nicotine products to anyone under the age of 18 is illegal.

Businesses are required to carry out appropriate age checks and have systems in place to refuse sales where customers cannot prove they are old enough to purchase the products.

Warning

Councillor Ed Stubbs, Cardiff Council’s cabinet member responsible for the Shared Regulatory Service, said the prosecution should serve as a warning to retailers.

“Mr Subhan was warned not to continue selling nicotine products to children and, despite this advice, chose to carry on.

“Nicotine products are harmful to people’s health, which is why laws are in place to restrict their sale. All shop owners are legally responsible for the products they sell, so this significant fine should send a clear message that proper checks must be carried out before selling nicotine products to customers.”

Mr Subhan was fined £2,000, ordered to pay an £800 victim surcharge and £426 in costs.

Corner Mini Market, for which he is the sole director, was separately fined £2,000 and ordered to pay an £800 victim surcharge and £426 in costs.

The combined financial penalty totalled £6,452.