Liverpool shop loses licence after fake Labubu, nitrous oxide haul

Liverpool councillors revoked the premises licence for Shizys on Picton Road after police and trading standards officers found fake Labubu dolls inside the shop alongside 50 nitrous oxide canisters and an extendable police-style baton.

Liverpool City Council had published a notice of application to review the licence for Shizys, 135 Picton Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, L15 4LG, dated 30 April 2026, and the formal grounds were prevention of crime and disorder and public safety. The Licensing and Gambling Sub-Committee met on Monday 1 June 2026 at 10:00 a.m., after police and trading standards had visited the premises twice in six months.

At that hearing, chair Christine Banks said the committee had no confidence in the management of the shop and that its priority was protecting the public. She said the hidden nitrous oxide canisters could have made the situation deadly and warned that a serious fire could have led to an explosion. Officers found the nitrous oxide canisters in a box at the back of the shop, with nozzles and balloons separated into snap bags ready for sale.

Trading standards officer Claire Jones said the fake Labubu dolls were in pieces rather than complete toys. The shop owner, Zahid Iqbal, denied knowledge of illegal sales, but the evidence showed a pattern of failure to control what was happening on the premises. Fake Labubu items were being held in the same space as other risky stock.

UK border officials have seized about 259,000 counterfeit toys worth more than £3.5 million so far in 2025, and about 236,000 of those items, around 90%, were fake Labubu dolls, according to the Intellectual Property Office. The Intellectual Property Office says 75% of counterfeit toys seized at the border failed critical safety tests, and one Labubu sale on Liverpool city-centre shelves was priced at £7.99.