Posted on Wednesday 8th June 2022
Officers from Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards service, joined by Police and East Staffordshire Licensing officers, have made seizures of illegal tobacco.
The raids, on Monday 6 June at five independent retailers in East Staffordshire, resulted in seizures of 27,178 illegal cigarettes, 2.65 kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco and 455 illegal disposable vapes. The haul has a retail value of around £17,500.
The raids are 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 and people’s health but also harms legitimate businesses.
“This week we’re supporting World Anti-counterfeiting Day, which is fitting given the success of these latest raids. We work closely with other local and national agencies to stamp out the sale of such products and we do rely on information from the public on where it is going on. Anyone with information should contact the service on 01785 330356.”
Operation Cece is a joint initiative between HMRC and National Trading Standards to disrupt every aspect of the illegal tobacco market, working collaboratively with Local Trading Standards and other law enforcement agencies.
Wendy Martin, Director, National Trading Standards, said:
“The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law. Having removed 13 million illegal cigarettes, 4,300kg of hand rolling tobacco and almost 110kg of shisha products from sale in the first year of the operation, the National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HRMC, continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade.”
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.”
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.