Trading Standards has seized illegal tobacco and vapes with an estimated retail value of over £9,000 from businesses in Newcastle.

Specialist tobacco detection dogs were used during the raids on three businesses in the North Staffordshire town on 4 June as part of an ongoing national initiative to tackle the sale of illegal cigarettes and vapes.

The items seized are estimated to have a retail value of £9,294 including 5,460 cigarettes, 2.75kg of hand rolling tobacco and 431 "illegal, oversized or banned vapes" with images appearing to show some of the products were hidden behind wall tiles.

The raids come after the ban on single-use vapes came into force on 1 June.

Lord Michael Bichard, chair of 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." 

The raids in Newcastle are after fresh raids in Stoke-on-Trent earlier this month on Tunstall High Street - where illegal tobacco and vapes worth £25,000 were seized.

In Staffordshire, since 2021, more than 1.8 million illegal cigarettes and 336 kg of illegal tobacco have been removed from the market. As well, since 2022, 33,000 illegal vaping products have been removed from sale by Trading Standards.

Anthony Screen, cabinet member for community safety at Staffordshire County Council, said: "Our priority is to protect consumers from harm and removing these goods from the streets is a great example of the team's work.

"The supply of these illicit and illegal goods is closely linked to organised crime and helps fund their operations. The items can also be dangerous to people's health and can affect legitimate traders at the same time. 

"Anyone with information should get in touch with the service who will take the necessary action."

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