Illegal vapes and tobacco worth £10k seized in Devon

The items, amounting to more than £10,000, were seized from two shops in Exmouth

Illegal tobacco products and vapes amounting to more than £10,000 have been seized from a town, according to Devon County Council.

The local authority and Devon and Cornwall Police discovered the items at two stores in Exmouth with the help of detection dogs.

In total, 444 illegal vapes with an estimated value of £8,000, 417 packets of illicit cigarettes with an estimated value of £2,085 and 107 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco worth almost £1,000 were confiscated.

It puts the total value of illegal tobacco products seized by Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service so far in 2024 to almost £150,000.

Detection dogs

Alex Fry, Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service’s operations manager, said: "The removal of illegal tobacco and vapes from entering the marketplace is a high priority for us, and this was yet another successful operation.

"The service uses detection dogs so regardless of where it is hidden, in a storage container or retail premises, the dogs have the ability to sniff out even small quantities of tobacco and vapes that are hidden from view."

He added: "These shops can undercut other local general stores who are trying to operate legally during difficult economic conditions."