More than £20k worth of illegal vapes and cigarettes seized by Sandwell police in day of action
Trading standards officers in Rowley Regis seized more than £20,000 in illegal cigarettes and vapes in support of a police operation across Sandwell.
Operation Advance saw Sandwell police spend the day executing warrants, making arrests and tackling anti-social behaviour.
Working with partner agencies, they acted on information about drugs across the borough, carried out weapon sweeps, stopped motorists who put lives at risk and cracked down on off-road bikes.
Rowley Police tweeted a picture of an officer with some of the items they had seized.
A total of 55 vehicles were pulled over around the borough and 29 traffic offences reported, with eight vehicles in total seized – seven for having no insurance, and one for having no tax. A man was also arrested on suspicion of drug driving.
As well as the crack down, officers were out at West Bromwich bus station to support patrols and operations and give help and advice to passengers. They also carried out a knife arch operation, speaking to residents about the dangers of carrying a blade and reassuring residents they were listening to their concerns.
Talking about the whole operation, Chief Superintendent Kim Madill, from Sandwell Local Policing Area (LPA), said: "What matters to you, is what matters to us, and this day of intense action was focussed on tackling some of these issues.
“We had significant police resources out across the borough and worked with a range of our partners to address your concerns.
"Our existing Sandwell teams were bolstered with extra officers and staff from other departments for this intensive day of action
“We also worked alongside our invaluable volunteers such as Streetwatch and our cadets who give up their time to help make Sandwell such a special place.
"It is all part of our commitment to working even more closely with our communities, following the introduction of our new local policing model earlier this year."
