£9,000 of illegal vapes, cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco seized in raid
Hampshire County Council has seized illegal vapes, cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco with a total estimated value of almost £9,000.
Trading Standards officers, working alongside Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, carried out inspections at two retail premises in the county on May 13 as part of ongoing efforts to tackle the sale of illicit tobacco and vape products.
The operation involved officers from the Modern Slavery & Organised Immigration Crime (MSOIC) team, New Milton Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), Hampshire County Council Trading Standards and Immigration Enforcement. A specially trained detection dog named George also supported the operation, helping officers uncover concealed stock.
Following information received from local communities, officers carried out enforcement and compliance visits at shops in the town centre.
At one store, officers seized 108 packets of cigarettes — equivalent to 2,160 cigarette sticks — along with 14 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco and 115 illegal vapes.
At a second premises, 57 packets of cigarettes, 15 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco and two vapes were recovered.
An associated vehicle linked to one of the shops was also searched. Officers discovered a further 824 packets of cigarettes and 216 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco, which were also seized.
The seized illegal tobacco and vape products had an estimated street value of £8,989.
Hampshire Police said the equivalent amount of legally sold, duty-paid cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco would have been worth £17,802 at retail prices.
Speaking after the operation, PC Antony Waghorn, of MSOIC, said: “We’ve seized a significant quantity of illicit cigarettes, tobacco and vapes and spoken with workers to ensure their safety and welfare.
“This kind of criminality exploits people, harms local residents, and undermines legitimate businesses.
“We will continue to work together to identify those higher up the chain who profit from these offences and ensure they are held to account.
“And finally, I’d like to place on record my thanks to those members of the community, including local shoppers and workers, who came over and thanked us for our work yesterday.”
Hampshire County Council’s Head of Trading Standards, Richard Strawson, said: “Our focus on cracking down on illegal vapes and tobacco products is paying off, with this latest operation preventing potentially dangerous products from reaching consumers.
“We were pleased to work with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police and partners, and this operation will act as a deterrent to other disreputable traders.”