A Wakefield convenience store owner who rose to internet fame after promoting the sale of Prime drinks for £100 a can has had his TikTok account reinstated after it was suspended by the social media company.
Mohammad Azar Nazir, who runs Wakey Wines in Wakefield, posted on Instagram on Sunday that his TikTok account – which has amassed 500,000 followers as a result of his audacious advertising efforts – had been “banned” due to “some jealous, horrible people”.
“There is a well-known influencer trying to tarnish my business I have been building up for years,” the post added.
Nazir – who launched Wakey Wines following four years in prison for selling high purity heroin and crack cocaine on a ‘near-industrial scale’, according to court reports – had been using TikTok to promote his stores stock of the in-demand Prime range of drinks, with posts featuring customers who had travelled for hours to get their hands on the product.
Nazir has gained a significant following on the channel, and has his own catchphrases: “What’s the best shop in Wakey? Wakey Wines!”, “Abdul come closer, Abdul go back” and “Bingo Bingo! Gala Bingo!”.
One of his posts features video of a customer who it was claimed had spent £1,200 on a box of 12 cans of the drink. It is understood Wakey Wines actually sells the bottles and cans of the drink for £20 each.
In response to the viral success of Wakey Wines, Prime brand owner, rapper and boxing promoter KSI posted a video in which he exclaimed Nazir “can’t keep getting away with this” screaming to consumers to “stop buying at these prices”.
TikTok said the removal of the account for violating its community guidelines had been a mistake.
“We are open about the fact that we don’t get every moderation decision right and have reinstated the Wakey Wines account. We hope they continue to use TikTok to promote their business,” a TikTok spokeswoman told The Grocer.
Prime launched in the UK in July in Asda and later became stocked by Aldi. The brand – founded by two YouTube influencers: KSI and Logan Paul – has become a viral sensation, with footage of shoppers queueing for hours outside supermarkets to secure their purchase of the coconut water-based drink. Demand saw retailers limit purchases to three bottles per customer.
Rival convenience retailers have shared their disdain of Wakey Wines’ practices.
“That guy is a menace,” one told The Grocer. “He is giving us a bad name. We all know it’s expensive but there are limits to what you can charge your customers. We sold it for £10 and that’s too much. It’s just greedy and scandalous to be charging these prices.”
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