An ongoing operation to combat the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes in Staffordshire has made seizures worth £24,000.
The three raids in March, resulted in the seizure of 29,100 illicit cigarettes, 0.55kg of illicit hand rolling tobacco and 2,064 illegal vapes. The items were discovered hidden in flats above the premises, ready to be sold to consumers.
Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards officers were supported by Staffordshire Police and a specialist dog search team. The raids were part of Operation CeCe, a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC to tackle the supply and sale of illegal tobacco.
In the UK, it is estimated that about 1 in 10 of all cigarettes and half of all hand-rolling tobacco are not duty paid. The illegal trade in tobacco also has strong links to organised crime and illicit tobacco can have a devastating effect on health.”
In the last financial year (April 2022 to March 2023), Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards service have uncovered around 1,006,000 illegal cigarettes and 116kg of illegal tobacco with an estimated street value of £325,000.
Anyone with information about the sale of counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes in Staffordshire should call the Fight the Fakes hotline on 01785 330356. People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
