A council is calling for greater powers to clamp down on “lawless” shisha bars, saying many have become magnets for violence, drug trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Town hall chiefs in Brent say of the borough’s 47 known venues, where molasses-based tobacco is smoked through hookah pipes, 39 are not compliant with law but current licensing legislation leaves officials almost powerless to take action.
Council leader Muhammed Butt has now written to Home Secretary Amber Rudd demanding action.
He told the Standard: “The Government needs to stop ignoring this issue and start taking notice of these unlicensed, unaccountable shisha venues before someone dies.
“We are running around in circles at the moment and even when we manage to close a cafe, due to anti-social behaviour, it can reopen virtually overnight.”
Brent has taken a tough line against shisha operators, which has led to 43 prosecutions and more than £114,000 in fines in the past four months.
In one incident, seven masked men wielding axes, baseball bats and sledgehammers stormed a shisha bar in Kingsbury, smashing furniture and windows before armed police arrived.
More than 100 customers fled for their lives as the gang ransacked the cafe in April 2015.
In July last year, a man was left with a three-inch gash to the head after being stabbed in the face with a hookah pipe at a shisha bar in Harlesden. When police arrived he was found lying in a pool of blood in the toilets. No suspect was identified and no one has been charged for the attack.
Councillor Butt said: “There is only so much local authorities and the police can do within the current legislation.
“We need the Home Secretary to give us the powers to take a zero tolerance approach to lawless shisha cafes so we can clamp down on the antisocial behaviour they generate and make our borough safer for everyone.”
The Home Office said police and local councils can issue a closure notice for up to 48 hours and also apply to courts for a six month closure order.
A spokesman said: “The police and local councils have an extensive range of powers available to deal with nuisance premises — including closure powers.”
