Trading Standards South West (TSSW) has seized more than £185,000 worth of illegal cigarettes and tobacco products as part of a region-wide disruption initiative.
Officers from nine local authority Trading Standards services from across the South West visited 50 retail premises between 10 and 14 March as part of Operation CeCe, a National Trading Standards (NTS) and HMRC-backed campaign to clamp down on the illegal tobacco trade.
They were assisted by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) as well as specially trained tobacco detection dogs.
Tobacco detection dog Griff from BWY Canine Ltd at an inspection in Exeter (image credit: TSSW)
The week’s activity, which was the result of several months’ preparation and coordination, led to the seizure of 127,371 illegal cigarettes; 65.94kg of illegal hand-rolling tobacco; 4,490 illegal vapes; and 2.5kg of illegal shisha tobacco. Many of the products were found in sophisticated concealments which had been specifically constructed to evade law enforcement.
The estimated total value of the products seized is £186,000, the profits from which would have otherwise ended up in the pockets of organised criminal gangs.
The total value of goods seized as part of the week of action is in the region of £186,000. This targeted operation means more than £100,000 of profit has been prevented from going to the organised criminal gangs that would have benefited from the sales of the illegal items.
Cheap, illegal tobacco and vapes are easily accessible to young people. The money made from their sale is used by organised criminal gangs to finance other illegal activities, such as drug sales, modern day slavery and people trafficking.
Young people are brought into contact with such individuals selling illegal goods, who have unknown and unchecked backgrounds, putting them at greater risk.
Trading Standards Officers have discovered several sophisticated concealments across the region, being used by the criminals to conceal their stock. Criminal gangs go to great lengths to hide it from the authorities, protecting their stock from seizure.
Ben Hayes, regional illegal tobacco and vape lead for TSSW, said: “This has been another successful multi-agency operation to tackle illegal tobacco disruption, and the criminals who operate in our communities.
“Members of public need to be aware of serious criminal association that these products have to criminal gangs. I urge anyone with concerns about sales of illegal tobacco and vaping products [in the region], including underage sales, to report them to Trading Standards South West. You may have the missing piece of information that we need to disrupt serious and organised crime.”
Detective Inspector Lucy Edgeworth of the South West Regional and Organised Crime Unit, commented: “This is another example of the success when policing and partners come together to tackle criminality. Anyone can report a crime or suspicious behaviour via their local force or pass information anonymously via Crimestoppers either by phone on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.”
Matt Lenny, South West Association of Directors of Public Health, said: “Smoking is the leading cause of premature, preventable death nationally and in the South West, killing up to half of its users. Cheap, illegal tobacco undermines smokers’ attempts to quit their addiction to tobacco, it is also more easily available to children and young people often leading to a lifetime addiction.”
