Illegal cigarettes and vapes seized in crackdown

In the last 12 months, more than 250,000 illegal cigarettes have been seized in raids across shops in Peterborough

More than 58,000 cigarettes and 1,767 vapes have been seized in a clamp down on illegal tobacco products.

The action has been taken across Peterborough by Cambridgeshire police, Peterborough Trading Standards, Peterborough City Council’s environmental health team and HMRC.

On 24 January, officers seized 954 vapes, 0.6 stone (3.85 kg) of hand rolling tobacco and 19,520 cigarettes from shops across the city..

A week later enforcement teams uncovered a further 813 vapes and 38,540 illegal cigarettes.

The seizures have so far led to two criminal prosecutions and a property closure order.

Items seized by the authorities during the raids include:

• Vapes with tank sizes that are illegal in the UK due to the quantities of liquid they contain

• Vapes that wrongly state they do not contain nicotine

• Cigarettes in packaging that does not comply with UK requirements on labelling and imagery

• Non-duty paid hand-rolling tobacco.

The crackdown comes as the government proposed banning disposable vapes and introduced tighter restrictions on tobacco products aimed at making them less appealing to children.

In the past year, Trading Standards officers have seized nearly 10,000 illegal vapes, 2.8st (18 kg) of hand rolling tobacco and more than 250,000 illegal cigarettes in Peterborough.

Insp Lyndsay Mylchreest, from Peterborough’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Many agencies in the area have made a commitment to come together to tackle issues raised by the community and make it a better place for all those who live and work in the area, of which this piece of work is just one example of that commitment.”

Jacqui Harvey, head of operations at Peterborough City Council’s regulatory services, said: “These ongoing, targeted enforcement operations send a clear message to the organised crime gangs that the sale of illegal tobacco and nicotine products won’t be tolerated in Peterborough.”