A kebab van that has served the community for more than two decades has been ordered to shut shop after authorities found ‘significant concerns over the integrity of the business’.
An extraordinary licensing committee meeting at Wokingham Borough Council found a number of concerning allegations and irregularities with Mo’s Kebab in Woodlands Avenue, Woodley.
Mr Jan Ratip applied for a renewal of the street trading consent for the business which has been operating in the Wokingham and Reading borough since 2001.
Concerns had been raised by Thames Valley Police after staff members listed on the application Mr Muhammet Alpar and Mr Ozan Uyar became suspects in an ‘affray’ at Turkish Mangal on Northumberland Avenue, Reading.
The force said that due to the proximity of the restaurant to the site of the van, the violence could be ‘business related’, and that Mr Alpar could be involved at both enterprises.
Mr Adonis Daniel, representing Mr Ratip at the panel on Monday, December 16, told members that Mr Alpar had been completely removed from the business.
But licensing officer Kieran Hinchcliffe said that it ‘comes across that Mr Alpar is quite strongly involved’, with his colleage Alec Coomber saying he had ‘never met or spoken with’ Mr Ratip.
Councillor Pauline Jorgensen said the panel should validate whether Mr Ratip was a resident, and that she was ‘concerned that they may not exist’.
Yulia Biysembaeva, assistant to Mr Ratip, said that he was currently in Turkey recieving medical attention, and admitted that the address on the application was her own – in the home she lived at with her partner, Mr Alpar.
This caused licensing officers to deem the application ‘invalid’, as ‘information has not been provided accurately’, as the application was made under Mr Ratip’s name.
But Mr Daniel said he had met with Mr Ratip on ‘numerous occasions’ and that it was Mr Ratip who filled out the application.
Ms Biysembaeva said it had made more sense to put her address down as she handles the admin of the business, as Mr Ratip’s assistant.
Further concerns were raised as it came to light that Mr Alpar had been present at the meeting with his legal representative.
Mr Daniel, appearing from the lobby of Shute End, was told by licensing officers that they had CCTV evidence that Mr Alpar had been present at times during the meeting.
Mr Daniel said he told Mr Alpar to leave the meeting multiple times, and urged the panel to grant the licence as he had been removed from the business.
But officers said that this would be ‘difficult to enforce’ as a condition for granting the licence.
Other allegations were made by member of the public Ghazzy Sakandar during the meeting amid claims of further incidents.
Gary Clarke from Thames Valley Police said he was ‘lost for words’ over the revelations made during the meeting.
Alec Coomber, licensing officer, said to the panel: “A number of concerning allegations have come out of this meeting. I think [there are] more irregularities around it in terms of addresses, signatories, relationships between individuals and now it would appear that Mr Alpar has been in the meeting unannounced for a
