A SHOPKEEPER is in trouble with the licensing authorities after an under-age customer bought cans of cider at his store in a police sting.

Rakesh Upadhyay, who holds the premises licence for Ideal Stores, at 392 Caerleon Road, Newport, could be slapped with a one-month enforced closure of his shop as a result.

A 15-year-old boy, working with police and council officers as part of an "alcohol test purchase sweep operation", was able to buy four cans of Magners from the store in February, documents show.

When council Trading Standards officers visited Ideal Stores a month later to challenge the owner, it emerged Mr Upadhyay - who had bought the business at the start of 2023 - had also failed to apply for the necessary paperwork allowing him to sell alcohol.

Council documents show he "failed to submit a Premises Licence Transfer Application or a Change of Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) Application, notifying the licensing authority and the responsible authorities of the change in ownership".

That effectively meant there was "currently no authorisation" to sell alcohol on the premises and Trading Standards told Mr Upadhyay any booze "would need to be removed or covered and could not be sold at the premises" until the paperwork was filed.

The business is now facing a council review of its premises licences, which could be suspended for a month in punishment for the breach.

"Clearly such suspension will act as a punishment for the licence holder, but importantly allow the premises time to undertake appropriate training for all staff and review all the premises documents and procedures," the council said in its review application.

The council is also pursuing other measures to ensure compliance, "in view of the above failures by the licence holder Mr Upadhyay to comply with the licensing objectives".

These could include the installation of CCTV in the shop to "continually record when licensable activity takes place".

Staff should also be trained to operate a Challenge 25 policy to check whether customers are old enough to buy alcohol, the council recommended.

Newport City Council's licensing committee will meet on Monday, July 17, to decide the outcome of the licence review application. Mr Upadhyay will also be able to "evidence and mitigation" to the committee.

Mr Upadhyay was contacted for comment.