Over £400,000 worth of illegal vapes seized in Salford

More than £400,000 worth of illegal vapes – some with up to 11 times the legal limit of e-liquid – have been seized after a raid in Salford by Trading standards officers with support from Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

More than 35,000 disposable vapes and 3,500 e-liquids were found in a storage area concealed behind shutters. One of the vapes seized was blueberry flavoured and shaped like a soft drink toy, raising fears some producers were deliberately targeting children while another resembled a bottle of beer, Salford Council stated on Tuesday (4).

Salford City Council said a criminal investigation had been launched.

Councillor Barbara Bentham, lead member for environment and community safety, said: “Some producers are cynically and deliberately designing vapes to appeal to children and it’s horrifying to find a local business buying into that exploitation.

“I’m very grateful to the person who complained about this, enabling our officers and police to go in and clear the shelves of these non-compliant and illegal products. In addition to taking action, such as prosecution, we can investigate money made illegally, in order to recover the proceeds of crime.

“If people have any concerns about products or sales to under 18s, they can report information to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 so it can be investigated.

“We all need to work together, particularly to keep children and young people safe.

“The legal maximum tank size for a vape is 2ml, which is around 600 puffs. The maximum legal size for a refill bottle with nicotine is 10ml, and maximum strength of nicotine is 20mg/ml. Anything which deviates from that should be reported. Properly regulated vapes can be a great way for adults to stop smoking but non smokers and under 18s should not be using them because nicotine is highly addictive.”

Since January, the team has seized almost 85,000 illegal vaping products, worth more than £650,000.