Illegal cigarettes and tobacco on increase during crackdown

Trading standards officers swooped on shops across Dudley and Sandwell.

The number of illegal tobacco products seized in Dudley doubled during 2016/17 - with 78,000 cigarettes and 519 packets of tobacco - worth more than £16,000 - seized.

In Sandwell, 33,750 cigarettes and 2kg of tobacco were taken off shelves.

Trading standards said the products were either counterfeit, possibly including toxins posing a risk to health, or had not had tax paid on them - denying the public purse thousands of pounds.

The figures show that illegal cigarettes and tobacco being sold in Black Country shops continues to be a concern. Nearly half a million cigarettes were in Wolverhampton between 2014 and 2016.

Councillor Peter Miller, cabinet member responsible for trading standards at Dudley Council, said: “Our trading standards officers are doing some excellent work to clamp down on this issue and rest assured, anyone selling illegal products could face serious penalties through the courts.”

Five business owners have been taken to court, with one which was operating in Sandwell given a suspended prison sentence and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Dudley Council visited 168 premises in total, with the illegal haul of tobacco from April 2016 to March coming from 10 premises.

Trading standards are continuing to crackdown on the issue through a range of measures including spot checks and test purchases.

Councillor Miller said: “This is far from a victimless crime. Illegal tobacco trade creates a cheap source for children and young people.

"While all tobacco is harmful, the illegal tobacco market, and in particular the availability of cheap cigarettes, makes it harder for smokers to quit and remain smoke free.

"The loss to the taxpayer means less money being spent on local communities, schools and the NHS."

Across the West Midlands, a total of 5.5 million illegal cigarettes and 645kg of hand rolling tobacco was seized in 2016/17.

The haul was worth more than £2.5 million and cost the taxpayer £2 million.

It was also revealed that in Sandwell, failure of test purchases - which normally involve sending an underage volunteer into shops to request alcohol or cigarettes - had risen sharply over the last two years.

In 2015/16, 35 per cent of shopkeepers failed the test, while the figure was 28 per cent in 2016/17 compared to 2014/15 when it was just nine per cent.

Bob Charnley, chairman of Central England Trading Standards Authorities, said:‘‘More and more people over the past few years have decided enough is enough and are providing information to trading standards, to stop local criminals selling and distributing illegal tobacco.

"The illegal tobacco trade has strong links with crime and criminal gangs, including drug dealing, money laundering, people trafficking and even terrorism. Selling illegal tobacco is a crime.”

Business which sell illegal tobacco can undergo criminal investigation and face fines, community orders and suspended prison sentences.