A lengthy investigation and repeated enforcement action by Reading Council Trading Standards has resulted in a three-month Closure Order for a shop which was found to be a prolific supplier of illicit cigarettes and vapes.
Vape Shop, operating from 462 Oxford Road, Reading, will remain closed until February 2025 after the Closure Order was granted by Reading Magistrates Court.
Some of the illegal products seized from the shop (image credit: Reading Trading Standards)
Trading Standards investigations and enforcement action revealed that the shop was a front for the distribution of illegal tobacco and, more recently, illegal vape pens. It was also the subject of numerous complaints from local parents who said it was selling cigarettes and vapes to children as young as 13.
It is estimated that more than 115,000 cigarettes have been seized from the business, which traded under various names between 2019 and 2024. Despite its rebranding as Vape Shop, illegal trading activities continued on the premises.
In September 2024, Reading Trading Standards raided the business in partnership with Thames Valley Police and HMRC officers. Specially trained tobacco detection dogs found illegal cigarettes concealed beneath the counter, inside the walls, and behind a false shelf and a mirror. After locating keys to a car that was parked around the corner and known to be linked to the business, officers discovered 20,000 cigarettes stored inside, along with 84 illegal vape pens.
Despite the seizure of stock and the shop’s immediate temporary closure, the business continued to sell illegal tobacco and vapes. After two further seizures were made in September and October, Reading Trading Standards served notice that it intended to apply for the Closure Order under Section 80 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 due to the extensive criminal activity and the public nuisance perpetrated by the Vape Shop.
Reading’s lead Councillor for Environmental Services and Community Safety, Karen Rowland, said: “This is an excellent result, following several years of careful observation work by our Trading Standards Officers, and I’d like to sincerely thank our partner organisations, Thames Valley Police, and HM Revenue and Customs, for their support during the operation.
“The business clearly had no consideration for the health and wellbeing of their customers in the community. They were simply running a dangerous business to undercut sales by legitimate shops in the area with the primary interest of lining their own pockets. Anyone involved in the illegal tobacco trade is complicit in making it more attractive for children to start smoking, taking advantage of cash-strapped families, as well undermining our compliant traders in Reading.
“This business – and indeed any similar operations – need to be clear that such closures can and will happen again, should they attempt such detrimental activities in the future. Operations such as this have no place in our communities, and I would strongly urge anyone with information on shops such as this to report them which can be done so anonymously.”
