Newham Council’s Trading Standards teamed up with specialist detection dogs from “Wagtails” to track down and seize illegal tobacco worth £20,000.
The operation, which took place last month, resulted in 10,360 cigarettes being taken off the streets, as well as 2.9kg of hand-rolling tobacco, and other non-compliant or illicit products, which had a value of £20,000.00.
The total haul included:
- 10,360 illegal cigarettes taken off the street
- 2.9kg of illegal tobacco removed
- 25kg of illegal shisha tobacco removed
- 4.8kg of illegal chewing tobacco removed
- 0.27kg of illegal tobacco pouches removed
The illegal tobacco haul was uncovered when officers visited a retail premises in Newham as part of a joint operation with Wagtails – the specialist detection dogs.
During the operation, a total of 16 businesses were visited, with five found to have illicit and non-compliant products.
The majority of the tobacco was non-duty paid and suspected to have been smuggled into the country. A proportion was believed to be counterfeit of popular brands, which are likely to contain harmful substances and may not self-extinguish.
Councillor Carleene Lee-Phakoe, Cabinet Member for Crime and Community Safety said:
“Illegal and illicit tobacco products are dangerous, and pose an immediate danger to the health and wellbeing of our residents. Through our Trading Standards operations, we will take swift, decisive, and direct action to remove these harmful substances.
“Illegal and illicit products often do not include correct health warnings, pictures, or appropriate labelling information. Illegal cigarettes often appear in colourful packaging as opposed to the legal standardised packaging which uses only one specific deep green colour.
“Far from being a victimless crime, illegal tobacco trading provides affordable access for children and young people, makes it harder for people to give up as the product is cheaper, and affects the trade of legitimate retailers.
“As a result of the cost of living crisis, some businesses are going to extreme lengths, choosing an easy option, attempting to supply illicit products to maximise profits. Yet again, this is a fantastic result from our Trading Standards service.”
The crackdown was part of Operation CeCe, a national campaign which focusses on joint working between National Trading Standards and HM Revenue and Customs.
The investigations remain ongoing and the seized products will now be fully assessed as part of the inquiry to determine the exact offences that have been committed.
Anyone who is prosecuted and convicted of being involved in selling or supplying illegal tobacco can face penalties including up to 10 years in prison and an unlimited fine.
If you have information about the sale of illegal tobacco in Newham, please report it via Citizens Advice Consumer Advice line on 0808 223 1133 or report on this website in confidence, anonymously.
Alternatively, you can also report information via the London Trading Standards consumer crime tool (https://www.londontradingstandards.org.uk/report-consumer-crime/). You can report information that is associated with people dealing in fake, illicit, unsafe products, or the sale of age-restricted products to children.