Illegal cigarettes, tobacco and disposable vapes found hidden in shop counters and unused gaming machines in Walsall

Walsall Trading Standards swooped on four retail premises in partnership with West Midlands Police and a specialist search dog team.

It took place as part of Operation CeCe, a national Trading Standards initiative in partnership with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to tackle illegal tobacco.

The traders were visited following intelligence that illegal tobacco was being sold and the seizures included over 24,000 cigarettes, 5kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco, 54 pots of unlabelled shisha and 644 illegal disposable vapes.

Many of the disposable vapes seized contained 10,000 puffs – the legal limit of disposable vapes is approximately 600 puffs.

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

Seven purpose-built, sophisticated concealments were found within all the shops visited.

Illegal tobacco, cigarettes and vapes were hidden within shop counters, in hidden hatches in shop walls and in unused gaming machines in one shop storeroom.

Many of the hidden concealments were held closed by an electro-magnet system.

In two shops, coffee grains had been sprinkled inside the concealments in an attempt to mask the scent of tobacco from the detection dogs.

However, this did not deter Cooper and Griff from locating them.

One man was also found to be working without the right to work and was referred to immigration.

Councillor Garry Perry, deputy leader and portfolio holder for resilient communities at Walsall Council, said: “This is another huge seizure for our Trading Standards team, West Midlands Police and sniffer dogs Cooper and Griff. I would like to praise colleagues for their involvement in getting these illicit products off our street.

“The sale of illegal tobacco and vapes fund organised criminal activity. It causes anti-social behaviour and damage to our communities in Walsall, which will not be tolerated.

"We will continue to take enforcement action against tobacco and vapes found on the illegal market and work with our partner organisations to ensure this type of crime is prevented in Walsall.”