'I am going to keep fighting' - family desperate to save off-licence (From Enfield Independent)

'I am going to keep fighting' - Huseyin Timur and Ozcan desperate to save off-licence Enfield Wine in Edmonton

1:30pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News By Hermione Wright

A father and son banned from selling alcohol after bogus booze was discovered in their off-licence say they will fight to save their business.

Huseyin Timur, who has run Enfield Wine in Edmonton for 12 years, was caught with fake and non-duty paid alcohol during licensing raids in 2010 and 2012.

Backed by the police, Enfield Borough Council took away the alcohol licence from Mr Timur to prevent any future illegal activity at the Fore Street business.

However, his 27-year-old son Ozcan - who also works for the family business - is in talks with the family’s solicitor and plans to appeal against the council’s decision.

He said: “We are going to appeal against it. Every time someone would come to check the stuff that we were supplying they would say ‘you can’t sell this but you can sell the other thing’. But then the next person would say ‘you can sell this.'

“They have done this on purpose, I don’t know what their issues are. We haven’t had any trouble with the council before, we haven’t had any other dealings with anyone else.

“We are mainly an off-licence so if we don’t sell alcohol, we haven’t got anything to sell really.”

He said the alcohol discovered over multiple inspections at the property was from one counterfeit batch, and believes officers should have removed it all at once rather than stagger their visits.

But time is running out for the Timurs. Unless they appeal, they will be forced to stop selling booze from February, Wednesday 20.

Ozcan told the Enfield Independent he is concerned for his family’s livelihood because they will struggle to sell their business if they do not have an alcohol licence.

He is unsure what he and his father would do for employment if the council does not make a U-turn over its decision.

His father, who rents the property from the council, said: “I don’t know what we will do. I don’t know how I could leave my business.

"I don’t know what will happen to us. Maybe I will go on benefits. I am going to keep fighting. “

Nonetheless, Councillor Chris Bond, cabinet member for environment, is pleased the shop has lost its licence.

He said: “Our priority is people’s safety and I think it is only right we send the message to other people - don’t sell counterfeit alcohol.

“They were given chances – if they don’t do it, we have to do what we have to do.”