Illicit cigarettes, tobacco and vapes worth £26k seized from city store
City of Wolverhampton Council's Trading Standards team teamed up with Bilston Police to target the store
Thousands of illicit cigarettes, vapes and tobacco products - thought to be worth around £26,800 - have been seized from a Wolverhampton business.
City of Wolverhampton Council's Trading Standards team teamed up with Bilston Police to target the city store, where the goods were believed to be on sale.
The illegal items, which included 13,680 illicit cigarettes, 3.1kg of banned hand rolling tobacco and 1,546 illicit disposable vapes, were found on the unnamed shop's shelves, plus a storeroom and concealed staircase.
Additionally, 12 banned novelty lighters were found along with 16 vials of an unidentified liquid, suspected to be nicotine.
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The retail value of the seized vapes was estimated at £15,000, while the cigarettes were thought to be worth around £9,918. It was also thought the value of the hand rolling tobacco was £1,890.
The council said action was set to be taken against the owner of the premises where the material was seized on March 19.
Further investigations will also be carried out to identify their suppliers.
The council said once investigations have concluded, the illegal cigarettes and tobacco would be handed over to a recycling scheme to be dealt with in an "environmentally friendly way".
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Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, Wolverhampton's cabinet member for resident services, said: “We are determined to clamp down on the availability of illicit products and are particularly concerned with illegal sales made to our younger residents.
“This operation forms part of our wider strategy in dealing with this issue and we will continue to carry out routine test purchases alongside targeted action days.
“I’d like to congratulate all those involved in this successful partnership operation, including our Trading Standards team and Bilston Police.”
Anyone who thinks they may have been sold illegal goods or suspect someone is selling them, can email trading.standards@wolverhampton.gov.uk.