Posted on Monday 25th April 2022
Tobacco seized in the East Staffordshire raids
Officers from Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards service, joined by Staffordshire Police and Police Licensing officers, have made further seizures of illegal tobacco in East Staffordshire.
The raids at five independent retail premises in Burton in March resulted in seizures of 4,080 illegal cigarettes and 2.45 kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco. The haul has a retail value of around £3,500.
Officers were supported by specially trained search dogs from BWY Canine in the raids which were undertaken as part of Operation CeCe, a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC to tackle illegal tobacco.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Trading Standards at Staffordshire County Council said:
The sale of illicit or counterfeit tobacco products is a crime that not only damages local communities but also harms legitimate businesses too.
This is yet another successful operation which is helping take these products off our streets. All tobacco is harmful but the sale of illegal tobacco also makes it easier for children to start smoking and get hooked. These latest raids show that we continue to take action where illegal sales are going on and anyone with information should get in touch with the team.”
In the UK it is estimated that about 1 in 10 of all cigarettes and half of all hand-rolling tobacco are not duty paid. The illegal trade in tobacco also has strong links to organised crime and illicit tobacco can have a devastating effect on health.
In recent years, Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards have uncovered over three million illegal cigarettes and almost 200kg of illegal hand-rolling tobacco with an estimated street value of £1,026,476.
Anyone with information about the sale of counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes in Staffordshire should call the Fight the Fakes hotline on 01785 330356 or visit www.staffordshire.gov.uk/fakes
People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.uk or 0800 555 111.