Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Counterfeit vapes and tobacco worth over £100,000 seized in Sandwell this year

Counterfeit vapes and tobacco worth over £100,000 seized in Sandwell this year
Illegal vapes were found stuffed inside an oven during a Tipton shop raid. (Photo: Sandwell Council via LDRS)

Around 3200 vapes, 127,300 cigarettes and 23 pouches of shisha, with a retail value of more than £100,000, have been seized in Sandwell this year, the local council has said.

The council added that West Midlands Police are working with its Trading Standards to identify shops in the area that are selling counterfeit products and taking action to disrupt and stop their illegal activity.


This includes conducting intelligence-based inspections, seizing counterfeit products and pursuing closure orders on stores that persistently ignore the law.

During target enforcement activity at a number of stores in Sandwell earlier this year, officers found a haul of vapes hidden in a hidden loft hatch which was sniffed out by a tobacco sniffer dog.

However, some shop owners are more brazen than others as officers found hundreds of vapes and cigarettes displayed in plain sight behind the counter of another store. Trading Standards investigations are ongoing.

“We are continuing our efforts to take illegal vapes and counterfeit cigarettes off our streets and ultimately safeguarding the public,” Daniel Allen, partnerships inspector for Sandwell, said.

“Thanks to our partnership work with Sandwell Council we are disrupting wider criminal activity and protecting the wellbeing of the community.”

Cllr Suzanne Hartwell, Sandwell Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for neighbourhoods and communities, added: “This successful operation demonstrates our partnership commitment to protecting residents by cracking down on the sale of illegal products. This work also helps protect law-abiding businesses from the sale of illegal goods which can create an unfair trading environment for the vast majority of businesses that always follow the rules and buy and sell legal products.

"Retailers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approach but our message is clear - you may hide it, but we will find it.

“In addition, illegal tobacco and vapes can harm our residents' health, so it's vital we restrict their availability. Illegal vapes are dangerous because they haven't gone through safety tests and there can be severe risks including dispensing too much nicotine, banned substances or encouraging over consumption.”

More for you

Ramniklal Solanki Editor’s Award

Seema Misra (L-4) and Vijay Parekh (L-5) receive Ramniklal Solanki Editor’s Award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards

Subpostmasters honoured with Ramniklal Solanki Editor’s Award

Sub-postmasters and mistresses caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal have been honoured at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards, conferring them with the Ramniklal Solanki Editor’s Award.

The Award, instituted in the memory of the founder of Asian Media Group and Asian Trader Ramniklal Solanki CBE, is presented to a person, or group of people, who have made an outstanding contribution the convenience retail sector.

Keep ReadingShow less
Wholesale Depot of the Year award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards

Shahzad Malik (third from left), of Bestway Wholesale, receives Wholesale Depot of the Year award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards

Asian Trader Awards: Bestway Glasgow Sher wins Wholesale Depot of the Year award

Bestway Glasgow Sher deport on Kilbirnie Street, Glasgow has won the Wholesale Depot of the Year award, supported by Tilda, at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards ceremony held on 5 November at London's Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel.

Bestway Sher is a dynamic and innovative depot that invests in its staff and new technology to ensure the very best service for its more than 3000 customers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Priyesh Vekaria receives Responsible Retailer of the Year award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards

Priyesh Vekaria (third from left) receives Responsible Retailer of the Year award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards

Asian Trader Awards: Priyesh Vekaria chosen as Responsible Retailer of the Year

Priyesh Vekaria, who runs the One Stop Carlton Convenience store in Salford, Manchester, has won the Responsible Retailer of the Year award, supported by Imperial Brands, at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards ceremony held on 5 November at London's Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel.

Vekaria’s sense of responsibility might have something to do with the fact that before he became a retailer he worked as a policeman for 10 years, and his new retail career was in fact a return to what his parents had done for 30 years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kashif Jaffar receives Convenience Chain of the Year award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards

Kashif Jaffar receives Convenience Chain of the Year award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards

Asian Trader Awards: Kashif Jaffar wins Convenience Chain of the Year award

Bedford retailer Kashif Jaffar has won the Convenience Chain of the Year award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards ceremony held on 5 November at London's Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel.

Jaffar is a serial retail entrepreneur who has built a highly successful chain of convenience stores across the south-east of England.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian Trader Awards: Prashant and Trupti Patel named Best Smokeless Alternatives Retailer of the Year

Trupti and Prashant Patel (third and fourth from left) receive Best Smokeless Alternatives Retailer award at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards

Asian Trader Awards: Prashant and Trupti Patel named Best Smokeless Alternatives Retailer of the Year

Prashant and Trupti Patel, who run the One Stop Brockworth store in Gloucester, have won the Best Smokeless Alternatives Retailer of the Year award, supported by VELO, at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards ceremony held on 5 November at London's Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel.

Prashant is another adventurer who arrived – first from India, and then via a career in mobile technology – at retail, where he has made his true home.

Keep ReadingShow less