Nearly £700,000 of illicit tobacco and vapes have been seized from inside two containers at a self-storage facility in Stoke-on-Trent.

Trading Standards teams seized 638,380 cigarettes, 108kg of hand rolling tobacco and 1,262 vapes which have a combined retail value of £671,363. The individual who hired the containers is now "under investigation".

Trading Standards visited the facility in Etruria on Wednesday 23 July with Staffordshire Police and a specialist tobacco detection dog and handler.

Cllr Amjid Wazir, cabinet member for city pride, environment and sustainability at Stoke-on-Trent City Council warned those involved in the storage, distribution or sale of illegal cigarettes "will face serious consequences".

Cllr Wazir added: "Smuggling and counterfeiting on this scale is organised crime - the shops these goods were destined for don't care who they sell to and are happy to sell to the city's children.

"Our message is clear, those engaging in crime will be held accountable. We are committed to making Stoke-on-Trent a greener, fairer, cleaner, safer city and keeping these substances off our streets."

The work is part of Operation CeCe – a national operation with HMRC and National Trading Standards to tackle illegal tobacco.

Lord Michael Bichard, chair, National Trading Standards, said: "The illicit tobacco trade is driven by organised criminal gangs and poses serious risks to local communities, especially young people.

"Since its launch in January 2021, Operation CeCe – a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC – has removed 69 million illegal cigarettes, 19,750kg of hand-rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, helping to clamp down on this illicit trade and protect communities and honest businesses across the UK."