Council 'one step ahead' on illicit goods

Since the start of Operation Cloud, Birmingham City Council has seized thousands of items, including 236 large bottles of nitrous oxide

Birmingham City Council's Trading Standards team has said it is "one step ahead" of shops selling illegal goods.

The team has been working with West Midlands Police to crack down on traders selling illicit vapes, tobacco and nitrous oxide, identified by intelligence from local residents.

During one raid the BBC joined in Small Heath, senior Trading Standards officer Mohammed Tariq said: "It's important to clamp down on these traders.

"We're talking about nitrous oxide. We're talking about illicit vapes that haven't been put through any testing, you don't know what's in them."

During the raid, officers found numerous boxes of nitrous oxide in a car parked outside a corner shop, and a box of disposable vapes was found inside a van also parked outside.

Meanwhile, on the same morning at another shop in Small Heath, officers found more than 700 single use vapes which were taken away for expert examination.

Trading Standards is cracking down on premises across Birmingham, identified by intelligence from local residents

Nitrous oxide was made a Class C drug in November 2023, and single use vapes were banned in June 2025.

Since then, Trading Standards said some shops had found "creative" ways to hide illicit goods on their premises.

The city council's cabinet member for community safety, James Tenant, observed one of the raids. He said: "We can see how lucrative this illegal trade is, by the lengths they go to, like multiple vehicles just sitting on the street.

"In previous raids, we've seen hydraulics systems that come down from the ceilings, it does make our job harder, but we are finding new and better ways to catch them as well.

"It's causing significant health problems amongst our young population, and operations like this crack down on that supply, and make our communities safer."