Abingdon barber shop prosecuted for selling illegal vapes
A barber shop owner and his company have been fined after being caught selling illegal vapes, despite a previous warning from Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards team.
Govand Ismaili, 29, Director of Govand Kurdish Barbers Ltd, which runs the shop in Abingdon, pleaded guilty to four offences at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Friday 15 May 2026 following a trading standards led investigation.
The court heard that, despite a warning issued after 484 illegal vapes were seized in September 2024, an undercover trading standards officer was sold an illegal vape in January 2025. More were then found hidden at the shop during a follow up inspection in February 2025.
The illegal vapes contained 10.8ml of nicotine liquid, well above the 2ml legal limit for disposable e-cigarettes, and the packaging did not meet the required standards.
Mr Ismaili and his company were fined £2,264, ordered to pay the council’s costs of £2,202 and a victim surcharge of £904.
He was also banned from acting as the director of a limited company for three years.
Councillor Judith Edwards, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Community Wellbeing and Safety, said: “We are committed to protecting residents, particularly young people, from the risks linked to illegal vapes. Businesses that continue to break the law, even after clear warnings, can expect us to act. We will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute where necessary, and we encourage anyone with concerns to report them so we can keep our communities safe.”
All the seized products were disposable vapes, which were banned from sale in the UK in June 2025.
Davina Walkin, Oxfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards Operations Manager, said: “We know that there has been a lot of public concern about the rising number of high street shops involved in the sale of vapes. As this prosecution shows we are taking firm steps to deal with any such businesses involved in the sale of illegal vapes.
“Since 2021, in Oxfordshire our officers have seized over 16,000 illegal vapes following dozens of inspections at premises like this. In addition, we have carried out multiple test purchases in stores targeting the sale of vapes to children, leading to prosecutions.”
Anyone with information about the sale of illegal disposable e-cigarettes or underage sales can email trading.standards@oxfordshire.gov.uk.
Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.