Illegal cigarettes and e-cigarettes worth £46,000 seized in major operation

Illicit cigarettes and vapes were seized during a recent crackdown in Conwy. Three businesses and a “home” were targeted in an operation on Monday, which found “extremely sophisticated and purpose-built concealments”.

A statement from Conwy County Borough Council said: “On 23 September, Conwy Trading Standards, with the assistance of North Wales Police, Immigration Enforcement, Wagtail Detection Dog and officers from Operation CeCe, carried out inspections at three business premises and one home in the Conwy County area. All four premises supplied illegal and unsafe cigarettes and tobacco, as well as illegal vapes to adults and children.

“During the inspections, extremely sophisticated and purpose-built concealments were found where the illegal and unsafe tobacco and vapes were being stored. All of the products identified as illegal (worth approximately £46,000) have been seized and enquiries are ongoing.”

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In total, the following was seized at the four locations:

• 834 packs (16,680 cigarettes) of illegal and unsafe tobacco

• 29.25 kg (585 bags) of illegal and unsafe rolling tobacco

• 1,353 illegal and unsafe vapes

The council’s statement added: “While Trading Standards recognises that it may sometimes seem like the only one suffering is the taxman, nothing could be further from the truth. This illegal trade in tobacco products and vapes has a direct impact on local businesses that sell legitimate products.

“The people involved in the sale and supply of illegal and unsafe products are only too happy to sell them to very young children, close down and destroy legitimate local businesses and are almost always involved in modern slavery, child sexual exploitation and serious organised crime.

“There are also additional safety concerns about this trade. Legitimate tobacco products and vapes have to undergo rigorous testing and have additional safety features. Illicit products do not have any of this and are known to be extremely dangerous to people’s immediate health.”

Trading Standards is asking anyone with information about people selling cheap cigarettes or rolling tobacco to contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

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