A SHOP has lost its licence to sell alcohol as police investigate claims the owners kept two slaves there.
Two workers were found living at the shop in Saltdean while working 96-hour weeks, receiving the equivalent of £2.60 an hour.
Police raided Premier Express Saltdean Convenience Store and found the pair were living in a small room in unsafe conditions.
The shop's owners, Krunal Chandrakant Patel and Kirma Krunal Patel, were also found to have breached licensing rules.
Peter Savill, counsel for Sussex Police, told a council hearing: “On any interpretation, it is a serious case because it concerns the use or employment of staff at these premises who have no right to work.
“The police say this is significantly worse than that. Police believe this to be a case of modern slavery.
“The staff who are employed illegally are paid a pittance and are living in wholly unacceptable and dangerous accommodation.”
The licensing panel hearing was told how police raided the shop on Longridge Avenue on Wednesday 16 December after receiving a report from the Home Office.
The pair were found living at the back of the shop in a room with a double bed and a microwave. They also had access to a separate toilet.
A week later, on Wednesday 23 December, East Sussex Fire and Rescue inspected the Saltdean premises and said that the workers’ living conditions were dangerous.
The fire service issued a prohibition notice banning sleeping on the shop, formerly known as Saltdean News.
At the licensing panel hearing, Mr Savill said that the shop was one of three premises owned by the Patels to have been raided in December.
An unnamed Portslade premises was also raided while the name and location of the third site was not disclosed.
A police report prepared by Inspector Rob Lovell said: “Both state they have not been threatened with violence.
“But it became obvious to officers that they do not understand what financial exploitation is or that they may be being coerced to work due to the outstanding debt.
“They were crying during this explanation, stating that they needed to pay the debt back.”
One of the people found staying at the shop did not have the right to live or work in the UK, according to the police.
Neither of them had passports, saying that they had been lost over the course of several moves, and immigration checks found that one was an “overstayer”.
One of the two people working at the shop said that they did not have a national insurance number, and their earnings were paid into someone else’s bank account, with their permission.
The police said that they were paid £200 each for a 96-hour week and, including accommodation, earned the equivalent of £2.60 an hour. The minimum wage is £8.21.
Licensing consultant Surendra Panchal, for Mr and Mrs Patel, accepted that proper checks had not been carried out when employing staff.
But the Patels denied allegations of “modern slavery” – and they denied that the illegal immigrant found in their Saltdean shop on Monday 8 February was employed there.
The hearing was told that there had been several breaches of the alcohol licence dating back to February 2019 although details of these breaches were not discussed during the public part of the hearing.
In its decision, the panel of three councillors said that it was concerned about the circumstances of the two individuals found working at the shop in December.
It was also concerned about other “persistent” breaches of the licence conditions relating to the closed-circuit television system and lack of training. Footage from the CCTV cameras showed the wrong time and shop staff could not access the footage.
The panel said: “Fundamentally, the panel do not have confidence in the premises licence holders to uphold the licensing objectives and prevent further crime in view of the serious nature of the criminal activities and allegations associated with these premises which have come to light in this review.
“A number of discrepancies were apparent during the account and explanation given by and on behalf of the licence holders so that we cannot rely on them or be assured that matters would improve after any suspension.”
The licence was revoked following the hearing earlier this month.
The Patels have 21 days to appeal against the panel’s decision.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel