On Wednesday 25 September almost 800 illegal vapes, 11,500 illegal cigarettes and 5 Kg of Hand Rolling Tobacco were seized from three shops in St Neots, Huntingdon and Ramsey.
These seizures were made in a multi-agency operation involving Trading Standards, HMRC, Huntingdon District Council’s Licensing and Housing teams, St Neots Neighbourhood Police Team and Wagtail tobacco dogs. The operation follows an influx of Intelligence from concerned members of the public.
Earlier in the year, raids in Ely, Littleport, March, Chatteris and Ramsey led to the seizure of 5,600 illegal vapes, bringing the total seized this year to 6,400. These raids are part of ongoing multi-agency enforcement to tackle the supply of illegal tobacco, vape and nicotine products.
In 2023, Trading Standards seized 8,800 vapes, over 26,000 illicit cigarettes and 38 packs of hand rolling tobacco in Cambridgeshire. In July three quarters of a tonne of illegal vapes which had been seized by Trading Standards were sent to a dedicated recycling facility.
Issues include vapes with tank sizes that are illegal in the UK due to the quantities of liquid they contain and vapes that wrongly state they contain no nicotine.
Legislation has been proposed that will help prevent vapes from appealing to children meaning they will only be available as a tool to help people quit smoking. It will introduce a progressive smoking ban that will gradually end the sale of tobacco products, meaning children born after 1 January 2009 will never legally be able to buy cigarettes, and it will strengthen the enforcement powers of Trading Standards.
Peter Gell, Service Director Regulatory Services said: “These ongoing, targeted enforcement operations send a clear message to the shops that supply these products, and the organised crime gangs behind these crimes, that the sale of illegal vapes won’t be tolerated in Cambridgeshire. We are committed to taking a hard line with anyone we uncover perpetrating these crimes.
“The level of Intelligence we receive from the public and local law-abiding businesses is also indicative of local feeling towards these crimes. They don’t want these crimes being committed in their local communities, and we will continue to tackle it on their behalf.”
Huntingdonshire Neighbourhood Inspector Colin Norden said: “We work to keep our communities safe from harm, and illicit cigarettes, vapes and tobacco pose a serious risk to health as well as fuel funding for other related criminal activity.
“Collaboration with agencies like this is all part of the ongoing work our neighbourhood policing teams do day in, day out, in response to concerns from the local community.
“We ask the public to continue to report any information or concerns to us. The more information we have, the better picture we can build and the more efficient we can be at targeting those causing harm to our communities.”
Anyone wishing to share intelligence or suspicions about criminal activity like this can report it online, anonymously at: www.keep-it-out.co.uk.
Alternatively, Trading Standard’s advice partner, the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, can be contacted on 0808 223 1133 Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.
