Illegal vaping and tobacco items worth £26k seized

More than £26,000 worth of illegal vaping and tobacco products have been seized from shops by police and Trading Standards.

West Midlands Police and Trading Standards officers targeted a shop in Wolverhampton following complaints, where they seized 13,680 illicit cigarettes and 1,546 illicit disposable vapes.

More than 3kg of banned hand rolling tobacco were also seized, along with 16 vials of an unidentified liquid, suspected to be nicotine.

Chair of National Trading Standards, Lord Michael Bichard said the trade in illegal tobacco "harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law".

The seizures took place during an operation on 19 March and are part of a wider national operation clamping down on the illegal sales of tobacco and vape products.

If genuine, the retail value of the vapes seized is about £15,000, the value of the cigarettes seized is an estimated £9,918 and the value of the hand rolling tobacco would be about £1,890.

City of Wolverhampton Council said action would be taken against the owner of the shop, while further investigations would be carried out to identify their suppliers.

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