Illegal Curry Mile shisha bar Dubai Cafe has £175k of cash confiscated

An illegal shisha cafe on the Curry Mile in Manchester has had a huge sum of cash confiscated and been slapped with a hefty fine.

Dubai Cafe on Wilmslow Road has had £174,074 of income confiscated for breaching a planning enforcement notice and operating as an illegal shisha cafe.

T&M Property Investment Ltd – the owner of the lease for the property – has also been ordered to pay an £18,750 fine and court costs of £5,700.

It was back in September 2018 that enforcement officers from Manchester City Council noticed that Dubai Cafe in Rusholme was being operated as a shisha bar.

The Curry Mile premises had also been altered without appropriate planning permission.

The landlord was ordered to cease operating as a shisha cafe and put right all the works made without planning permission through an enforcement notice – which was ignored.

The Council entered the property on two occasions to seize shisha pipes and tobacco, but more than four years later found that Dubai Cafe was still being used as a shisha bar.

T&M Property Investment Ltd was sentenced following a guilty plea at a Manchester Crown Court hearing on Friday 5 May to offences committed under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Councillor Gavin White, executive member for Housing and Development, said: “These premises had been operating illegally as a shisha café for a number of years and despite receiving enforcement notices from the Council to stop, they continued and have now been held to account through the courts.

“Local residents have had to put up with this criminal activity for too long and this judgement – along with the confiscation of their illegally obtained profit – sends a clear message to other businesses flagrantly breaking the law that we are looking for you and we will prosecute.

“This case also shows that landlords can’t hide behind their tenants – they will be held responsible for criminality in their property.

“Operating a premises without the correct permissions is not only illegal but can also be dangerous. It’s a welcome result following months of hard work to bring a prosecution and ensure this property is safe.”

Featured image: Manchester City Council