Warning to city shop owners as thousands of illicit cigarettes seized in Wolverhampton raids
City shop owners are being warned that action will be taken as thousands of illicit cigarettes and a range of vapes and tobacco products have been seized by Wolverhampton Council.
Acting on complaints, the council’s Trading Standards team targeted premises across the city where illicit goods were believed to be on sale.
All shops had previously undergone test purchases and the underage sale of vapes and illicit cigarettes had been confirmed at a number of the premises.
A specially trained detection dog - Cooper - from B.W.Y Canine Ltd helped sniff out some of the illegal tobacco products, and, in total, more than 17,500 cigarettes, 744 vapes, 200g of Shisha and 2.1 kilo of hand rolling tobacco were found.
In one city business, Cooper identified a stash of illicit cigarettes found in a specially-created sliding shelving unit hidden behind a wall.
Other items were discovered under counters and in one premises, under beds. Officers also found evidence of the illegal sales of single cigarettes.
The estimated retail value of the cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco seized, if genuine, would be worth £14,640.
The value of the vapes seized is around £7,440 and the duty evaded for cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco would come to more than £8,500.
The seizures were carried out under Trading Standards initiatives Operation CeCe and Operation Joseph.
Trading Standards officers were joined by representatives from West Midlands Police, B.W.Y Canine Ltd and the Intellectual Property Office.
Wolverhampton Council said action will now be taken against the owners of premises where the material was seized while further investigations will be carried out to identify their suppliers.
Once investigations have been completed, the illegal cigarettes and tobacco will be handed over to a recycling scheme to be dealt with in an environmentally friendly way.
Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at Wolverhampton Council, said: “The illicit sale of vapes and tobacco products puts our residents in danger and affects the trade of legitimate businesses in our city.
“We won’t tolerate it and we won’t hesitate to take action against city businesses that sell these illegal and dangerous goods.
“Removing these items from the streets is a real result and I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in this successful partnership operation, including our Trading Standards team, West Midlands Police and the trained nose of tobacco detection dog Cooper from B.W.Y Canine.”
Lord Michael Bichard, chair, National Trading Standards, said: “The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law.
“Having removed 19 million illegal cigarettes and 5,103kg of hand rolling tobacco in 2023-24, Operation CeCe (a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC) has taken £27.2 million pounds worth of illicit tobacco off the market since the operation launched in 2021 and continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade.”
Officers from it's Trading Standards team have issued some warning signs to look out for when buying cigarettes or tobacco.
The telltale signs of illegal tobacco include unusual taste, cheap price, unusual packaging, spelling mistakes or incorrect logos. They may also have health warnings that may not be printed in English, might not display a picture, might not be printed on a white background and may have different sized lettering to usual.
Anyone who thinks they may have been sold illegal goods or suspect someone is selling them, can email trading.standards@wolverhampton.gov.uk
