Huge haul of illegal tobacco, vape seized from Bradford

Police have seized a number of illegal tobacco and vape products in a series of raids in Shipley and the Bradford city area last week.

According to local reports, the raids were conducted by West Yorkshire Trading Standards (WYTS) along with West Yorkshire Police during which huge hauls of dodgy vapes and cigarettes have been found, sparking a warning from WYTS that there’s “nowhere to hide”.

The seizures included packets of cigarettes marked with ‘duty free’, hand rolling tobacco, and an array of flavoured vapes such as ‘cherry cola’.

Special constable Cath Gallimore was among those working with sergeant Terri Green, the Shipley NPT and a police dog. The force followed tip-offs and information to carry out several different contraband raids in the Shipley area, reports stated.SC Gallimore said they received “a little help from ‘The nose’”.

It comes after WYTS discovered a hoard of illicit tobacco products underneath a Bradford shop's counter for baked goods. The blue countertop and a nearby wall was merely a mask for the business’ mini market of illegal tobacco supplies, stated reports.

The raids come a month after a report stated that most shopkeepers support existing tobacco laws and want the Government to go further in protecting people’s health. According to charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) commissioned a survey of 961 small tobacco retailers across the UK and shared its results with the PA news agency.

Eight out of 10 (81 per cent) agree there should be a mandatory licence scheme for selling tobacco to prevent sales to children, illegal sales, and to give local authorities more power.

The same proportion also support mandatory age verification for anyone who looks under 25, which the report said would make enforcement in England easier.