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From the
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk 14th August 2009.
BEXLEYHEATH: Drayman loses licence after open drug taking filmed on its patio bar.
A TOWN centre bar has had its licence revoked after councillors watched
CCTV footage of members of the RA gang openly snorting drugs on the
premises.
Members of Bexley Council’s licensing sub-committee watched the footage
as part of evidence produced by Bexley police to support their
application for the licence of the Drayman in Crook Log, Bexleyheath, to
be withdrawn.
The drug taking activities on the bar’s front patio were filmed over a
period of time by the council’s CCTV on the evening of July 8.
At the request of police, an emergency licensing hearing was held on
July 10 which suspended the bar’s licence for a week, and imposed extra
licensing conditions, pending a full hearing.
Bexley police’s licensing officer PC Eddy Boston told the full hearing
last week he had called in two officers from New Scotland Yard’s clubs
and vice squad to visit the Drayman undercover on July 29, to see if
drugs were still being used on the premises.
Their confidential statements to the sub-committee confirmed evidence of
cocaine use on that evening.
The two women officers had found evidence of cocaine in the ladies
toilets and seen people taking drugs.
A former door supervisor at the bar said he had agreed with the bar
management that certain groups would be banned, only to find management
was allowing them back into the Drayman through the side door, avoiding
the Clubscan security.
He said the management had decided to reduce the number of security
staff on duty at the bar, which made it difficult to monitor fully what
was going on.
PC Boston said most of those taking drugs on July 8 had been identified
as members of the RA gang.
The bar's solicitor Mark Blenkarne told the hearing the bar's licence
holder, Ravi Chhokar, had been too distressed to attend after walking
out during a viewing of the CCTV footage.
Instead, designated premises supervisor Andrew Court attended the
hearing.
Mr Court said he and Mr Chhokar only knew one member of the gang.
Mr Court said they had allowed four or five members of the RA into the
bar before and they had caused no problems.
On July 8 up to 40 members of the gang were present and Mr Court said he
understood they were there to “wet the head” of a gang member’s new
baby.
PC Boston said: “Have you not heard of the problems these people can
cause; that Pubwatch considers it is undesirable to let them into your
premises?”
Mr Court said: “When I saw the CCTV I was more shocked than anyone. I
didn’t know they were connected to the RA.”
PC Boston also showed footage of three people outside the bar at 8.45am
on July 9 who he said had come out of the side door of the Bar One was
unable to stand and PC Boston said the man had to be taken to hospital,
foaming at the mouth.
The man had told staff he had been taking cocaine with ketamine, a horse
tranquiliser.
PC Boston said another of the three men was a known drug dealer who had
just been released from prison.
He said police had received a number of calls from the public about the
incident.
PC Boston said two of the three had been recorded on Clubscan in the
Drayman the previous evening and were still wearing the same clothes.
Mr Court said he was unaware of any overnight parties being held at the
bar.
He said the bar had been forced to change its clientele in recent
months because the 18 to 21-year-olds were the only people with money to
spend.
He said the bar was now busiest on Wednesday and Thursday as a result,
but often shut at 11pm on other nights and sometimes did not open at
all.
Mr Blenkarne said the bar was prepared to put a supervisor in the ladies
toilets if required.
He said it had already installed Clubscan and had stationed a door
supervisor permanently on the patio as required by the emergency
licensing hearing.
He suggested the sub-committee could suspend the bar's licence for three
months to get things sorted out.
PC Boston told the sub-committee: "You have got to ask yourselves 'is
the management capable of dealing with the situation?' and if the answer
is no, you have got to take the decision to revoke the licence."
The sub-committee said it was “satisfied the management of the premises
had the knowledge and ability to prevent drug taking at the premises,
but were unable or unwilling to do so.”
The bar was given 21 days to appeal.
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