'One of the largest seizures' of illegal cigarettes, tobacco and disposable vapes carried out in Walsall

The seizing of the items - worth £260,000 - took place on Tuesday as part of a crackdown on the illicit tobacco trade, and is one of the largest seizures to date by Walsall Council’s Trading Standards team.

Walsall Trading Standards, in partnership with West Midlands Police and a specialist search dog team, searched one storage facility and three retail premises.

The activity took place under Operation CeCe, a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to tackle illegal tobacco.

Traders were visited by the Trading Standards team and the police after receiving intelligence that illegal tobacco was being sold.

The seizures included over 325,000 cigarettes, 28kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco and 1,000 illegal disposable vapes.

Some of the vapes, which are attractive to children due to their colourful appearance and fruity flavours, contained as much as 15,000 puffs when the legal limit is approximately 600.

Sniffer dogs Griff, Bran and Cooper, who are highly trained tobacco and vapes dogs assisted the team.

Bran sniffed out a storage container where nearly 314,000 illegal cigarettes, 900 illegal vapes and 25kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco was being unlawfully stored.

Three shops were later visited by Trading Standards where illegal tobacco, cigarettes and vapes were hidden in various concealments including within the shop counter and within the seat of a chair.

In one store, a purpose built sophisticated, wall concealment within the kitchen area was sniffed out by Bran.

The concealment was held closed using an electromagnet system.

Further investigations in the borough continue to clamp down on such illegal products, and investigations will be made following Tuesday’s seizures which could lead to prosecution.

Councillor Garry Perry, leader of Walsall Council said:“This is the largest seizure to date carried out by our Trading Standards team along with the police. The amount and value of the goods seized is absolutely shocking and it would have not been possible without the hard work of our colleagues and the police, and of course Griff, Bran and Cooper who are highly trained to carry out this work.

“Illicit cigarettes, tobacco and vapes fund organised criminal activity, with links to human trafficking, drugs and even terrorism. It also exploits vulnerable people and even has harmful effects on the community and health of our population.

“Our work will continue across the borough and enforcement action will be taken to ensure this type of activity is disrupted so that Walsall is safe and secure for everyone.”

Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said: “The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law. Having removed 27 million illegal cigarettes, 7,500kg of hand rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, the National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade.”