Walsall Trading Standards, in partnership with West Midlands Police and a specialist search dog team, including sniffer dogs Griff, Bran and Cooper, searched seven retail premises and one associated vehicle.
Illegal goods were found in the vehicle and all shops visited, including across storeroom floors, hidden concealments, and even inside a jigsaw puzzle box.
The seizures removed more than 150,000 cigarettes, 20.5kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco, and 1543 illegal disposable vapes from Walsall’s streets.
“ Our Trading Standards team really put the pieces together with this investigation, managing to find goods which pose a real danger to our residents hidden in secret compartments, and even a jigsaw box.
“These dodgy traders pose a real risk to the people of Walsall, which is why we have adopted such a strong approach for these matters.
“The message is clear in Walsall, you will get caught trying to sell dodgy goods in our borough. Traders need to realise they will simply not get away with such behaviour.
“This work is also vital in delivering our Tobacco Control Plan, a key aspect of which focuses on tackling the trade of illicit tobacco and vaping products. “
In one store, a purpose-built wall concealment was found in the storeroom. The concealment was holding over 20,000 Illegal cigarettes and almost 1000 illegal vapes. Some of these vapes, which are very attractive to children due to their colourful appearance, contained as much as 30000 puffs – while the legal limit is approximately 600.
This activity took place under Operation CeCe, a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC to tackle illegal tobacco. The traders were visited by the Trading Standards team and the police after receiving intelligence that illegal tobacco was being sold.
“ The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law. Having removed 27 million illegal cigarettes, 7,500kg of hand rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, the National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade. “
