The director of a shisha café in Cricklewood is feeling the heat of tobacco offences after being fined more than £5,000 for flouting the law and operating illegally.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Maryam Khodabakhshmoriabadi,director of Parkway 329 in Edgware Road was fined for tobacco offencesMaryam Khodabakhshmoriabadi,director of Parkway 329 in Edgware Road was fined for tobacco offences (Image: Archant)

Maryam Khodabakhshmoriabadi, director of Parkway 329 Ltd on Edgware Road, was ordered to pay a total of £5,589 for violating a number of regulations at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on May 9.

The 38-year-old pleaded guilty on behalf of herself and the company to charges which included allowing smoking inside, tobacco offences and operating an unregistered food business.

She was convicted earlier this month after a Brent Council compliance visit last October revealed six separate offences to be taking place at one time.

Smoking shisha poses the same health risks as cigarette smoking and illegal venues have been found to create smells and noise nuisance, and be places where there is an increased risk of anti-social behaviour.

Brent are cracking down on shisha venues who break the law and a dedicated taskforce including the Metropolitan Police have been tackling the growing health and community safety concerns surrounding illegal shisha venues within the borough.

The council has now prosecuted almost 50 shisha businesses operating illegally.

Abdi Mukthar, of Crome Road in Harlesden, and Fahad Hassan, of Cater Close in Kingsbury, the owner and manager respectively of the Marina Lounge in Bridge Road, Wembley, pleaded guilty to smoke-free and tobacco related offences dating back to last September and ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £1,665 in February.

The owner of Paradise Parlour on Kilburn High Road, Ali Redha Walji, of Dollis Hill Lane in Cricklewood, along with manager Kaan Haider Mohamed, of Frigate House on the Isle of Dogs, were convicted of smoke-free and tobacco labelling offences committed on November 24 and ordered to pay £1,980 in fines and costs.

A Brent Council representative from the taskforce, said: “This is yet another warning to owners of shisha cafes who don’t obey the law and we will prosecute all venues until they comply or are forced to close down.

“Our message is clear: we will not tolerate illegally operating shisha cafés causing antisocial behaviour to residents and other businesses nearby. We are determined to stop this from happening.”