The Mawney Road shop must stay shut until 28 October after a court closure order followed the seizure of over £8,000 of illegal cigarettes and tobacco.

RM Mini Market on Fairview Parade, Mawney Road, has been closed for three months by court order after Havering Council’s trading standards and enforcement teams, working with police, seized more than £8,000 worth of illegal cigarettes and rolling tobacco from the shop. (Havering Council statement, 31 July 2026)

The raid took place on Tuesday 28 July, when officers from the council, the Havering Joint Taskforce and Romford Town Centre police teams searched the premises with sniffer dogs after what the council describes as weeks of investigation under Operation CeCe. The following day, Wednesday 29 July, Barkingside Magistrates Court granted a closure order, and the council says the shop must remain shut until and including 28 October 2026.

Councillor Terry Brown, Havering’s Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said in the council’s statement: “The stash of cigarettes and rolling tobacco which were not only illegal but posed a huge health risk to our residents, have now been taken off our streets.” Inspector Charlie Routley of Havering’s Safer Neighbourhood Police added: “This Closure Order sends a clear message that we will not tolerate businesses operating outside the law and causing harm to our communities.”

A rating of 1 on the hygiene register two weeks earlier

The closure caps a poor month on the public record for the shop. The Food Standards Agency’s hygiene register lists RM Mini Market, Mawney Road, Romford RM7 7AD, the postcode covering Fairview Parade, with a food hygiene rating of 1, meaning major improvement is necessary, following an inspection on 14 July 2026, exactly two weeks before the raid. The register records its lowest-band scores for both hygienic food handling and confidence in management.

A hygiene rating reflects conditions on the day of inspection; the business is entitled to appeal the rating, request a re-visit once improvements are made, and publish a right of reply on the register. The council’s statement does not name the shop’s operator, and it reports a closure order against the premises, not a criminal conviction of any person.

Timeline for RM Mini Market, Mawney Road, Romford: food hygiene rating of 1 issued after a 14 July 2026 inspection, raid and seizure of over £8,000 of illegal tobacco on 28 July, closure order granted by Barkingside Magistrates Court on 29 July, closure runs until and including 28 October 2026
The public record, by date. Sources: Havering Council statement, 31 July 2026; Food Standards Agency hygiene register. Graphic by Romford Today.

What it means for you

The shop cannot lawfully trade from the Fairview Parade premises until 29 October at the earliest. Illegal tobacco is sold without the health warnings, duty stamps and fire-safety standards that legal products must carry, which is the health risk Councillor Brown’s statement refers to.

If you know where illegal cigarettes or tobacco are being sold, reports can be made to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service, which passes reports on confidentially. You can check the hygiene rating of any food business in the borough on the Food Standards Agency register.

For more from across the borough, see our Romford news section.