Three adult stores have been raided as part of a probe into sex shops in Manchester.
Council officers and police swooped on three premises around the city – seizing around 800 DVDs and videos.
It is understood that The Triple XXX Factor, in Oldham Street, The Adult Film Factory, in Hilton Street, and The Adult Shop, in Hulme Hall Lane, Miles Platting, were the shops raided.
Officials from Manchester council’s licensing and trading standards departments targeted the stores.
The swoop is part of an investigation into businesses operating without sex shop licences.
Council watchdogs will also investigate whether the material seized complies with the Video Recordings Act.
A council spokesman said: "The city council’s licensing and trading standards departments, assisted by Greater Manchester Police, raided a number of premises across Manchester.
"Around 800 DVDs and videos were seized and investigations are continuing."
A licence is needed from the council to run a sex shop – any premise selling sex toys, books or videos – in the city.
It costs around £5,000, is valid for 12 months and needs to be renewed annually.
Sex shops caught operating without a licence can be fined up to £20,000.
The council confirmed there are currently four licensed sex shops in the city. Staff at The Triple XXX Factor and The Adult Film Factory told the M.E.N. that they did not know anything about the raids.
The owner of The Adult Shop, who declined to give his name, said he was aware of the raid but did not want to comment further.
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Smashing. How many burglaries were committed during the time these raids were being planned/executed/administered? Get your priorities right GMP!
Time something was done to regulate all this trash.
Is Ayatollah Anderton back?....which pack of religious zealots are calling the shots on this one?
£5000 a year for a licence to run a sex-shop....incredible.
There is no chance of confrontation in raiding a sex shop is there?I wonder how many were "mislaid" along the way and will end up appearing at the xmas bash?
Lots of free sex videos for guys to watch. In these times of cutbacks its nice to know Police budgets are being well spent.
£5,000 a year for a license to trade? no wonder they were doing it illegally! ( i would)
Easy targets......
Meanwhile murders, rapes, violent crime are all on the increase and hard drugs are openly sold on Claremount Road.
Well done the police and council, you have respect of all the people.
That photo is truly depressing.
Here we go again....... So many people blame the Police at every given opportunity. Get off their backs and support them, either that, or as I have said time and time again DON'T ever contact them if you need help!
''A council spokesman said: "The city council’s licensing and trading standards departments, assisted by Greater Manchester Police, raided a number of premises across Manchester.''
The important word here is .....Assisted!
The Council cannot raid premises without the Police being in attendance!
I don't go into these places myself (ahem), but don't see any problem with others using them as long as they are not selling paedophile material or those truly evil 'snuff' things. The licence fee seems a bit harsh. Do they really make so much money that they can afford to start at minus £5k each year exclusive of business rates?
would you buy a sandwich from next door?
My local "Cheap" shop sells "Baby Oil" do they need a licence?
The picture states "Adult Superstore" - it must be a Tardis then !!!!
This makes me laugh. Is porn videos damaging anyones health? No! But I know someone who has reported to trading standards and crimestoppers that shops in Old Trafford and Hulme continue to sell cheap fake tobbaco and cigarettes but nothing has been done about it...
Shops on Ayres Rd and City Rd are full of them.
Is trading standards getting back handers from the cig shops? one wonders....
So if there was hundreds of complaints about these shops what should the council do? If you read the article the Prosecuting Agency is the City Council and the Trading Standards. The Police are there to stop any breach of the peace whilst the shops are targeted. And yes it is filth and the sooner all shop like this are shut down the better. The women in these films are treated as sex objects
To those who ask how come the shops selling tobacco and alcohol to under age kids are not being prosecuted. Can I ask how do you know they are not being prosecuted?
Hundreds of cases are prosecuted through the courts each year by Trading Standards and the Council and maybe 1 gets in the news so get your facts right before you start to have ago at the Council.
In any case you need evidence that someone is committing an offence or has that been forgotten. If the Trading Standards attempt to get evidence that a shop is selling cigarettes or alcohol they need to send in under age kids under supervision and if they do this and the kids are then asked for ID and the shop refuses to serve them, then there is no evidence. If an 18 year old goes into the shop and buys the drinks for the kids then the crime is with the adult buying not the shop themselves. How can a shopkeeper know with 100 percenty that an 18 buying the produce will give it to an under 18(alcohol) or under 16(cigarettes)? If that was the case all adults would be stopped from buying the products as the shopkeeper could not proved they wouldn't give the products to kids.
If you have the evidence for property going missing, apart from your hatred of the council and police then I would suggest that you go to the newspapers with the evidence. I suspect you don't have any as you are always complaining that crimes are being committed yet failed to report them in which case how can the relavent authorities prosecute? They need evidence to put before the courts. And even if they did have evidence as far as I am aware people are Innocent until proven guilty.
Shucks !! Now I'll have to write another letter to Santa.
P.S. Don't forget the batteries at Christmas folks
As a resident of Manchester who gets the bus down Oldham Road / Oldham Street every day, these three establishments have been open for years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So why now are they ''discovering'' they are running without a licence?
its all on the internet for free nowadays anyway, this is the last thing they need
as has been mentioned there is so much sex videos on the web it suprises me that shops still operate
the raids are more to do with money than "morality" especially as the shops are a soft target compared to raiding drug dealers