Illegal vapes and tobacco worth £166,000 seized in South Devon

£166,000 worth of suspected illegal tobacco and vapes have been seized by Trading Standards in a joint operation with Devon & Cornwall Police in South Devon recently.

Trading Standards, assisted by the local neighbourhood policing team, located and seized over 18,000 suspected illegal tobacco products and 2,000 illegal vapes from a rural location in South Hams.

The goods seized included a number of suspected counterfeit products, non-duty paid tobacco products and non-UK compliant vapes.

Inspector Ben Shardlow, who heads up the neighbourhood police teams in South Hams, said: “These illegal goods do not go through regulated safety testing and quality control procedures like the legal products that are sold in the UK do, which means we don’t know what’s in them. Carrying out this proactive warrant shows great partnership working and has resulted in identifying a significant amount of illegal goods – it is positive we were able to remove a large amount from the streets and circulation.”

Cllr Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council’s cabinet member for Trading Standards, said: “Retail outlets that sell counterfeit and illicit tobacco are big business and these shops can undercut other local general stores who are trying to operate legally during difficult economic conditions. Because the tobacco is sold at pocket money prices by criminals who are not interested in asking for proof of age, it encourages children and young people to start smoking. Illegal tobacco products also present a genuine health risk above and beyond that of legal tobacco, as they aren’t subject to the same quality control checks and are often found to contain high level of contaminates.”