Trading standards officers were joined by police last week for an operation in Exmouth where illegal tobacco products and vapes worth more than £10,000 were discovered by detection dogs and seized from two stores.
It puts the total value of illegal tobacco products seized by Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service so far this year to almost £150,000.
In total 444 illegal vapes with an estimated value of £8,000, 417 packets of illicit cigarettes with an estimated value of £2,085 and 107 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco worth almost £1000 were confiscated.
The tobacco was a mix of counterfeit and non-duty paid and the vapes were not suitable for UK sale due to being non-compliant with tobacco and related products regulations.
Since the beginning of the year Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service has seized approximately £118,000 worth of illicit tobacco and approximately £37,000 of illicit vapes.
Alex Fry, Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service’s Operations Manager, said:
”The removal of illegal tobacco and vapes from entering the marketplace is a high priority for us, and this was yet another successful operation.
“The service uses detection dogs so regardless of where it is hidden, in a storage container or retail premises, the dogs have the ability to sniff out even small quantities of tobacco and vapes that are hidden from view.
“Retail outlets that sell counterfeit and illicit tobacco are big business and these shops can undercut other local general stores who are trying to operate legally during difficult economic conditions.
To report concerns of counterfeit or other illegal products, contact Trading Standards, email tradingstandards@devon.gov.uk or phone 01392 383000.
To report concerns of businesses engaging in illegal activity or to log non-urgent crimes happening in your area, please visit our website or call 101.
If you would like to report crimes anonymously, please visit Crimestoppers. For all emergencies call 999.
Information can also be passed anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555111, or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org
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