An undercover sting operation by council trading standards caught the owner of Romanita Magazina failing to check the boy’s age

One of the vapes seized from the premises (credit Enfield Council)

An Edmonton vape shop owner has been prosecuted and fined after a sales assistant sold a disposal vape to a 14-year-old boy.

Enfield Council’s trading standards team carried out an underage test purchase using police cadets at Romanita Magazina in Sterling Way, back in October 2024.

During the test purchasing exercise, the 14-year-old cadet bought an ‘Elf Bar’ disposable vape. The shop assistant did not ask for any proof of age before making the sale.

At a hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court last month, shop owner Serhat Degirmenci, age 32 and from Haringey borough, was fined £1,000 plus a surcharge of £400 and was ordered to pay the council’s costs of £1,352.93. In total, Degirmenci will have to pay £2,752.93. He now has a criminal record.

Degirmenci did not attend the court, so the case went ahead without him after approval by the judge on the day of the hearing.

An investigation into why the vape was sold to a child found that the business had no systems in place to prevent under-age sales. There were no staff training records or clear procedures for checking appropriate ID.

Romanita Magazina mainly sells vape and shisha products. Because of this, the business has a higher responsibility to make sure all sales are legal.

Susan Erbil, the council’s cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said: “Retailers have a legal duty to make sure age-restricted products are not sold to children. They must ask for identification if they have any doubt the person they are serving is underage. They must ask for ID.

“Failure to follow basic procedure, will result in prosecution. If shops fail to follow the law, we will take them to court. We will continue to take strong action to protect young people and their health.”

The council’s trading standards service is responsible for protecting consumers and businesses in the borough by ensuring a safe and fair-trading environment.

For more information:
Visit enfield.gov.uk/services/business-and-licensing/trading-standards

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